Josh Brolin can now add a different kind of role to his resume. In addition to starring as Mitt Gardiner, the late father of Austin Abrams’ character Jay, aspects of the actor were also used to create the appearance of the sperm whale that traps Jay inside its body for the majority of the film. As Jay fights for survival, he communicates with the spirit of his father (via Brolin’s voice), which also doubles as the spirit of the whale.
Because the its heartbeat triggers a specific lighting effect throughout the film, director Brian Duffield revealed they recorded Brolin’s heartbeat and doubled it for the whale’s, further solidifying the late father’s affinity and connection with the mammal. Where do we get the heartbeat?’ And then it was, ‘We have Josh!’” Brolin also inspired the physical appearance of the whale, Duffield revealed at the premiere, which was held at the El Capitan Theatre. In an attempt to visually tie the two together, creatives gave the whale similar facial scarring to Brolin’s character.
It was a subliminal choice, Duffield said, but it was enough to mean something to both Abrams and the filmmakers. While promoting “Whalefall,” Brolin told Variety he’s happy that theatrical releases have seen a jump at the box office, including for the re-release of “Avengers: Endgame,” which he “didn’t even know” recently returned to the big screen. However, Brolin’s Ridley Scott-directed “The Dog Stars,” earned just $8 million domestically its opening weekend in August. the actor said he wasn’t fazed by the numbers as it’s impossible to know “what’s going to work.” “‘Dog Stars’ did an incredible marketing campaign, and then nobody saw it,” he said, also noting that box office failures can eventually find success via streaming.
Brolin recalled his 2017 film “Only the Brave,” which initially bombed at box offices but later became a streaming hit.
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