Brendan Fraser moved to tears after The Whale receives five-minute standing ovation at London Film Festival

Brendan Fraser was brought to tears by a standing ovation for his new movie The Whale at London Film Festival.

Fraser and the movie's director Darren Aronofsky introduced the film to festival attendees at London's Royal Festival Hall, and Fraser then took a seat in the audience to watch the film. He then took to the stage again after the credits had rolled to thunderous applause. 

"Am I at Venice?" tweeted one audience member. "Five min standing ovation for Brendan Fraser’s masterpiece performance in The Whale. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand the entire movie. My heart is in my throat."

"At the screening of The Whale, I've never seen a more rapturous reception to an actor at LFF than when Brendan Fraser stepped onstage," wrote filmmaker Edgar Wright on Twitter. "This is before they saw the film. Afterwards, he could have crowdsurfed out and be handed the Oscar on the Southbank."

The movie previously received a six-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival, where it had its world premiere last month. Fraser stars as Charlie, a reclusive 600lb man who tries to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter, played by Stranger Things' Sadie Sink. The two became estranged after Charlie left his family for a new lover, who has now died, and Charlie turned to compulsive eating out of grief and guilt. Samantha Morton plays his ex-wife Mary, while Hong Chau plays his nurse and closest friend. 

Fraser rose to fame as the star of Hollywood blockbusters like 1999’s The Mummy, but this is his first leading role for many years after his career went through a quiet period in the 00s. 

The Whale arrives in theaters on December 9, 2022. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of this year's most exciting movie release dates.