Nick Kroll reveals how his baby ruined a big moment for actor Brendan Fraser at the Venice Film Festival premiere of The Whale. Fraser has acted in a number of films, including playing the lead in The Mummy series and a prominent role in the film Crash. His next film role is starring in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, a film about a man living with severe obesity that is attempting to reconnect with his daughter after a long period of estrangement.
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Though Fraser has acted in movies and TV shows over the last few years, many see The Whale as his comeback film. It has not yet been widely released, but the early reviews show positive reactions to the film and are especially complimentary of Fraser’s lead performance. When The Whale screened at the Venice Film Festival, it was met with a six-minute-long standing ovation. Fraser was touched by this moment, so much so that tears rolled down his face as the audience reverently clapped and cheered for the film, and for his performance.
But, fellow actor Kroll apparently almost spoiled the day of Fraser’s standing ovation. The comedian opens up about this experience on Late Night with Seth Meyers, where he reveals his horrific red-eye flight experience on the way to the Venice Film Festival. Kroll and his wife brought their one-and-a-half-year-old child with them, who ended up crying for the entire flight. When Kroll stepped off the plane, he saw one man that looked particularly unhappy about this experience – Fraser. He and his wife then ended up bringing their kid to The Whale's Venice premiere, too:
Yes, me and my wife, we flew with our son. And uh, you know, you worst nightmare is you fly with your child and your child is going to be loud and unpleasant on the plane. And we thought we had timed it well. […] And then he misses his window, and he’s then awake. And he starts screaming. And for almost the entire red-eye, he will not fall asleep. […] And so then he’s crying, literally the entire flight. We land in Venice, and this guy gets off the plane, and he’s wearing a searsucker suit and a Panama hat. I think it’s like a mob boss. Like a proper Italian Mafia boss. He is not happy about it, I then get to baggage claim and I realize, it is not a mafia boss, it’s Brendan Fraser. And he’s so pissed. […]
Anyway, so, find out Brendan Fraser was talking about how much my son was crying on the plane that he wouldn’t fall asleep, he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep. I was like, I felt terrible, it’s your worst nightmare that you’re going to be the people whose kid is screaming on the red-eye. The next night I go to a premiere with my wife, and we go to see this movie called The Whale. And he plays this like 600 pound man. And the movie, he’s amazing in the film, and he’s one of my favorite actors… this is his big comeback. The movie finishes, he gets an eight-minute standing ovation. People are– he’s crying. You can feel him being like, ‘I’m back, baby. It’s the Oscars, here we come.’ He then turns around, and me and my wife are standing directly behind him. And he looks at us, and then I pull up my baby, and he starts crying. And my wife took a picture of him just at the moment he looked at us, and if you can look closely, you can see Brendan Fraser, realizing that we have ruined his night.”
The Standing Ovation Was A Huge Moment for Fraser
Kroll recounts this story with his characteristic, humor-infused style. While Fraser’s standing ovation moment was still a big deal for the actor, knowing this backstory perhaps gives more context to how exhausted he was at this point during the festival. Fraser had been through an awful flight, tainting his condition at the premiere of what Kroll aptly refers to as “his big comeback.” While it's certainly likely that he was overcome with emotion at the movie's strong reception, those premiere tears might have also been the product of exhaustion.
Nonetheless, The Whale is a defining moment for Fraser. After years of featuring in many high-profile projects, he is coming back on the Hollywood scene, between The Whale and some other recent works such as his part in the action-mystery No Sudden Move. However tumultuous his journey to the Venice Film Festival stage, that standing ovation is a testament to this accomplishment in Fraser’s career. Perhaps there is one good thing to come of Kroll’s story after all: in his allusion to the Oscars, he could predict a win for Fraser. Time will tell as The Whale is released wide and awards season rolls around.