Brendan Fraser Sobs Over 6-Minute Standing Ovation For 'The Whale' In Venice

Brendan Fraser has come a long, long way from his "Mummy" and "George of the Jungle" days, given that now, he's playing a 600-pound gay man, trapped in a wheelchair, trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. The movie is "The Whale" and comes to you from Darren Aronofsky, who was behind the success of another fallen star, Mickey Rourke, in "The Wrestler." Aronofsky was the brains behind the Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis starter "Black Swan" and the Jennifer Lawrence-starring "Mother!".

Now, it's the time for the resurgence of Brendan Fraser. Or as the Internet puts it, the "Brennaisance". And we are here for it, tears and all. As is Dwayne Johnson.

Despite an extremely good start in Hollywood, where his big physique and goofy smile got him plum roles like the "Mummy" franchise, and also the first of the "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", Fraser slipped off the popularity charts after many injuries, sustained during the production of his many hit movies. Later, he was allegedly sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, the then president of the Hollywood Press Association, and this also led to Fraser stepping away from the limelight. His mother's death and subsequent divorce from his wife added to his woes but it seems Fraser is now making a concerted effort to come back to Hollywood.

He's been seen in several small projects recently, including the limited edition series "Trust" and "Condor." And now, Fraser will be seen in "The Whale” as a gay man with severe obesity who is struggling to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter, played by “Stranger Things” star Sadie Sink who calls Fraser her "favorite human on the planet."

The cast also includes Hong Chau, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins, and the movie is based on an eponymous play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter.

Fraser has always done his own stunts, injuring himself in the process multiple times. His flying into a tree in the comic take on Tarzan, "George of the Jungle" started it all and his stunts in "Mummy" and further franchises ended up costing him his health.

And now, to play a 600-pound wheelchair-confined obese man, he had to don a prosthetic suit that added 50-300 pounds to him for various scenes. The "Bedazzled" actor spent six hours getting the makeup done and spoke about the same, saying, "The torso piece was almost like a strait jacket with sleeves that went on, airbrushed by hand, to look identical as would human skin, right down to the hand-punched hair."

Calling the suit "cumbersome, not exactly comfortable" the actor added, "I developed muscles I did not know I had. I even felt a sense of vertigo at the end of the day when all the appliances were removed; it was like stepping off the dock onto a boat in Venice. That [sense of] undulating. It gave me an appreciation for those whose bodies are similar. You need to be an incredibly strong person, mentally and physically, to inhabit that physical being."

Fraser, as Charlie seems to have won people's hearts as the movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival in the Sala Grande Theatre. The final scenes of the movie moved many to tears, including Hillary Clinton staffer Huma Abedin.

As the credits rolled out, Fraser got a standing ovation that lasted six minutes and moved the Canadian actor to tears, and then to sobs. As the credits rolled in, the audience stood up and shook the rafters with applause, which made Fraser reach out and hug Aronofsky. Abashed by all the attention and clearly emotional, Fraser tried to leave the theater at one point, but since the applause continued he stayed longer and took a bow, endearing himself to the audience even more.

One of his earliest co-stars, Dwayne Johnson retweeted the moment, remembering Fraser for his support for the "Mummy" franchise, which The Rock says, "kickstarted my career."

Clearly, Brendan Fraser deserves all the applause, and mayhaps, an Oscar.