Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is sharing his love on social media for Brendan Fraser, following the actor getting a buzzworthy standing ovation at the 2022 Venice Film Festival. On Sunday, Johnson took to Twitter to reveal how happy is he for Fraser and the advanced praise of his upcoming film The Whale, and to thank him for his support landing his first acting role in 2001’s The Mummy Returns. “Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan,” Johnson writes. “He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career. Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky. #TheWhale 👏🏾”
Videos by ComicBook.com
The Whale stars Fraser as Charlie, a 600-pound man who tries to reconnect with his daughter—played by breakout Stranger Things star Sadie Sink—years after having abandoned his family. Fraser and Sink are joined in the film by Hong Chau, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins. Darren Aronofsky directed from a script by Samuel D. Hunter, who also wrote the play the feature film is based on.
“This is certainly far removed from anything I’ve ever done but not to be coy, I haven’t seen any of it yet but I do know it’s going to make a lasting impression,” Fraser told Newsweek of his role last summer.
“I developed muscles I did not know I had,” Fraser told members of the media in attendance at Venice (via Variety). “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 appreciation for those whose bodies are similar. You need to be an incredibly strong person, mentally and physically, to inhabit that physical being.”
He added, “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.”
In the past year, both Johnson and Fraser were tied to the DC universe, with Fraser cast as Garfield Lynns / Firefly in HBO Max’s Batgirl movie, which was controversially shelved by Warner Bros. last month. Johnson is set to finally make his debut in the franchise in Black Adam, which will arrive this fall.
The Whale is currently scheduled for release in the United States on December 9th.
