Venice Film Festival Gives Brendan Fraser Standing Ovation

Photo: Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images

The Venice Film Festival gave Brendan Fraser a standing ovation (yay!) for his role as a 600-pound recluse in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale (hmm). Regardless of how you feel about the A24 pic seemingly designed to court film Twitter controversy, it’s always nice to see people appreciating Brendan Fraser. Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh caught Fraser’s reaction to the standing O: bashful, appreciative, semi-teary-eyed. We’re in the middle of the Brendanaissance, with Fraser several seasons into Doom Patrol and popping up in Trust and No Sudden Move. His role of Firefly in Batgirl, alas, will never see the light of day. But for now, let’s bask in the glow of Fraser basking in the glow of the Venice International Film Festival.