While Brendan Fraser's critically-acclaimed performance in The Whale kickstarted his comeback, it seems that the role almost went to late-night talk show host James Corden.

In a Q&A session with Deadline to promote his new Amazon series Mammals, the comedian and host of The Late Late Show with James Corden shared the story about how he was initially cast in the tear-jerker drama in its early stages of development. "I was going to play that part, and Tom Ford was going to direct," Corden said. While Corden lost the role after Ford dropped out of the project due to creative control issues, the comedian expressed no regret as he believes he was too young for the role at the time.

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How Brendan Fraser Was Cast in The Whale

The journey for The Whale to hit the big screen was a decade in the making. Conceived as a stage play in 2012, the film adaptation saw a revolving door of filmmakers from Ford to George Clooney attached to direct. Once The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky got involved in the project, he struggled to find the right actor to play the role of morbidly obese English professor Charlie. It was not until he saw Fraser's role in a trailer for his 2006 crime-thriller Journey to the End of the Night that it clicked for the director to cast him.

Since the film's release, Fraser has been the talk of awards season. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama" and won "Best Actor" by the St. Louis Film Critics Association. In an emotional affirmation by industry peers, The Whale received a full six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival which brought the actor to tears.

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Fraser revealed what was going through his mind at the Venice Film Festival screening in an interview with GQ. "Crying is a word that’s, like, you’ve injured yourself, or there’s some harm done; I think I honestly was just smiling so hard my face leaked," he said. "I’d never been in that microscope before. It’s…it’s powerful stuff."

The film was written by Samuel D. Hunter, who wrote the original stage play, and directed by Aronofsky. It showcases Fraser starring as the reclusive Charlie, who tries to reconnect with his teenage daughter Ellie, played by Sadie Sink (Stranger Things), and ex-wife Mary, played by Samantha Morton (Minority Report), after abandoning them for his recently departed male lover Andy. Aided by his only friend Liz (Hong Chau), Charlie has a need to make amends for the past, which becomes more timely as his health takes a turn for the worse.

The Whale is now in theaters.

Source: Deadline