Photo by Luke Varley/Luke Varley - © Amazon Studios/Dignity Productions Ltd
“The Whale,” Darren Aronofsky’s adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name has earned mixed reviews, but Brendan Fraser’s performance as a 600-pound man has received overwhelming praise. A few days ago, the late-night talk show host James Corden revealed that he was auditioned to play Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, now, another Corden news has surfaced.
At a recent screening of the Amazon series “Mammals,” Corden spoke to Deadline reporter Pete Hammond that he was not only auditioned for the role, but also he landed the lead role of Charlie in “The Whale”.
But the film could have been completely different. During the ten years that Aronofsky spent developing the film, a variety of other actors were considered for the role. While Aronofsky optioned the rights to Hunter’s play a decade ago, he did not always plan to direct the film himself. And several of the other filmmakers who considered helming the project almost took it in a very different direction.
Corden was cast for the role of the film adaptation of the famed stage play back when iconic fashion designer turned acclaimed “A Single Man” and “Nocturnal Animals” director Tom Ford was set to direct the project.
Ford reportedly wanted more creative control than he was initially given, so dropped out of the project. At this point, Corden also dropped out as George Clooney considered directing “The Whale” at one point, though he exited the project because he was only willing to make the film if he could cast an unknown actor who actually weighed 600 pounds. Clooney’s interest reportedly declined quickly, and the film went on to be directed by Darren Aronofsky who was attached for years and eventually cast Brendan Fraser.
The film was released in theaters by A24, would it be generating the same Oscar buzz as the new adaptation from Darren Aronofsky and Brendan Fraser? For that, we will never know.
