‘Bros’ Guy Branum Also Has a Problem with Brendan Fraser Playing Fat Gay Lead in ‘The Whale’ – Them
The Whale may be an awards-season favorite, but it is quickly garnering criticism from several corners of Hollywood.
During a premiere screening of the new film Bros, comedian and star of the film Guy Branum shared his thoughts on the upcoming Darren Aronofsky film, which sees actor Brendan Fraser playing a 600-pound gay man while wearing a fatsuit.
“I think that the source material of The Whale is problematic. I think that it’s trying to use extreme fatness as a metaphor for gay pain,” Branum told LGBTQ+ outlet PRIDE in an interview. “And as an actual fat gay person, I feel like my life doesn’t need to be a metaphor for somebody else’s pain.”
Branum continued, “I also have real problems with the fact that they cast a straight actor who is not very fat, and [who] used prosthetics to represent fatness, in the film. I think it allows people to talk about that character as an object in a way that wouldn’t be possible if it were an actual fat person who you had to look in the eyes.”
Fraser’s portrayal has quickly become the odds-on favorite to garner the actor a best actor trophy, even as the film’s use of a fatsuit has sparked controversy. Previously, Mean Girls actor Daniel Franzese also criticized the casting of a straight man to play Charlie, the gay character at the center of The Whale, and have Fraser wear prosthetics.
“I love Brendan Fraser, [so] I’m very conflicted,” Franzese said previously. “Seeing him get up so modest in Venice and have that moment, I was very happy for him. He’s a lovely man. And it’s great. But why? Why go up there and wear a fat suit to play a 400-lb. queer man?” Franzese also said, “I mean, who knows more about being an obese queer man than an obese queer man?”
The Mean Girls actor went on to criticize Hollywood, saying, “But I guess you can go ahead and wear a fat suit and do what you got to do and get your Oscar. We’ll just sit here, waiting.”
Much like Franzese, Branum said that this moment was not about criticizing Fraser, but rather the systems that allowed him to be cast in the role. “We all want Brendan Fraser to have a great comeback. We all want this moment for him,” Branum said. “But we also need to think about how much we are representing queer life and fat life through straight actors or prosthetics.”
Fraser reportedly worked with the non-profit organization Obesity Action Coalition to research the role, according to People. The film is based off an award-winning play written by gay playwright Samuel D. Hunter, who also wrote The Whale’s screenplay.
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