Hudson Valley Co-Stars With Bedford's Brendan Fraser In 'The Whale'

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Brendan Fraser walked away from Hollywood in favor of the Hudson Valley countryside and a more peaceful way of life, but Tinseltown came knocking far from the Sunset Strip to reclaim a star.

Bedford's own Brendan Fraser stars in the "The Whale," which was released nationwide on Friday. In the film, Fraser plays the role of a morbidly obese teacher named Charlie living a life of solitude in Idaho. The 600-pound Charlie tries to reconnect with his estranged 17-year-old daughter as he fears his life is coming to an end.

There has been Oscar buzz for months, especially after Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation after the film premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival in September, bringing him to tears.

Born in Indianapolis and raised in Europe and Canada, Fraser fell in love with theater at the age of 12, while the family lived in London. Best known for starring in several hit movies in the 1990s and early 2000s, including "The Mummy" franchise, "George of the Jungle," "Encino Man," "Airheads," "Blast from the Past," "Bedazzled" and "Crash," Fraser hasn't really been on screen very much during the past ten years.

In 2018, Fraser went public with allegations that he had been sexually assaulted more than a decade earlier by Philip Berk, the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The controversy involving assault allegations, a divorce, the death of his mother and reported health problems led the actor to take time away from the limelight. Fraser, who lives on a horse farm in Bedford, says he took some important personal time, and mostly focused on being a father to his three sons who live nearby with his ex-wife in Greenwich.

"All I knew is that I never felt like it was enough," Fraser told the AP earlier this month. "I questioned myself. I felt scrutinized, judged, objectified, often humiliated. It did play with my head. It did play with my confidence.”

Many are calling "The Whale" his comeback film. The one-time in-demand leading man says that characterization doesn't bother him, even if it's not entirely accurate.

"If anything, this is a reintroduction more than a comeback," Fraser told the AP. "It's an opportunity to reintroduce myself to an industry, who I do not believe forgot me as is being perpetrated. I've just never been that far away."

The movie star, turned Hudson Valley gentleman equestrian, had little trouble transitioning back to his familiar role on camera, but his return was complicated by an unforeseen danger that changed life in our corner of New York and beyond.

"I gave it everything I had every day," Fraser said. "We lived under existential threat of COVID. An actor's job is to approach everything like it's the first time. I did but also as if it might be the last time."

Though the story is set in Idaho, rehearsal and production took place between January and April of 2021, at the Umbra Studios on Scobie Drive in Newburgh, managed by Choice Films. According to A24, "every scene was meticulously blocked out, and the floor was taped as the power dynamics between the characters turned from theoretical to physical."

Most of the filming took place indoors at Umbra's Stage 4, an 18,000-square-foot drive-on sound stage. Scenes were also filmed in New Paltz.

The Orange County New York Tourism & Film Office gave welcome baskets to the cast and crew that included products from local vendors, including Finding Home Farms (Greenville), Love Bites Chocolatier (Monroe), City Winery Hudson Valley (Montgomery), Newburgh Brewing Company (Newburgh), Soons Orchard (New Hampton) and Brotherhood Winery (Washingtonville).

"The film scene in Orange County is booming, and local businesses are excited to welcome the many professionals comprising the films' producers, directors, cast, and crew to their new home," Orange County Tourism and Film Director Amanda Dana said in March 2021. "This gesture is just a small way to remind our 'film people' that Orange County is not only a prime location for filming, but a place you definitely want to live, work, and play.

Locals who worked on the production included Mitch Lillian (key grip), Jimmy DeMarco (rigging gaffer), Jack Lillian (B camera dolly grip), Greg Meola (grip), Kimberly Sauer (additional imaging technician), Anthony Stracquadanio (grip), Todd Sullivan (lead shop electrician), Rachaell Dama (costume supervisor), Michele Elise (tailor), Michelle Bayreuther (set medic), Tony Glazer (stage manager), Summer Crockett Moore (stage manager) and Hilary Greer (casting of background actors).

For his role as Charlie, Fraser wore a large body suit and prosthetics created by makeup artist Adrian Morot that required several hours of makeup each day.

"The Whale" is Rated R and 117 minutes long. Watch the A24 preview: