The Whale's Filming Location Put The Cast Through Less Than Ideal Conditions
When most people think about Hollywood actors, they usually think about glamorous and lavish lifestyles because their work affords them untold amounts of money for work that's not very labor-intensive. At least, that's the fantasy that most people conjure up in their heads of what an actor's job consists of.
However, that's not usually the case. Backstage.com posted a feature that compiled various quotes from several big-name actors regarding the number of hours that they usually had to spend on set for some big large productions. Accordingly, many actors work grueling hours, usually at a minimum of 10 hours a day on set, while others say they've worked up to 18 hours a day. For instance, in an interview with NPR, actor Doug Jones, known for playing mute creatures, recalled sitting in makeup for three hours and shooting for an additional 10 hours while playing the Amphibian Man in Guillermo Del Toro's "The Shape of Water."
And sometimes, it's not even the hours on set, but the difficult circumstances in which some actors have to work during such long hours. The U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics touched upon the work environment for actors, stating, "Actors may perform in unpleasant conditions, such as outdoors in bad weather, under hot stage lights, or while wearing an uncomfortable costume or makeup."
There's also the possibility of difficult living conditions some actors have to endure while working away from home, which actor Sadie Sinks knows all too well. Recently, the "Stranger Things" actor expounded on her struggles while filming Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale."
Sadie Sink details the miserable living conditions during the production of The Whale
On a recent episode of the A24 Podcast, "Stranger Things" stars Sadie Sink and Finn Wolfhard discussed the trials they navigated while growing up in the movie industry. The two young thespians recalled their meeting at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere for "The Whale," a film about a morbidly obese man (Brendan Fraser) who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter, played by Sink.
At the premiere, Wolfhard remembered a conversation he had with Sink regarding the freezing cold they experienced filming "The Whale." Sink confirmed, explaining that the heater would malfunction often. "Yeah, it was rough," Sink recalled. "It was me, Brendan, and Ty (Simpkins) and we were all staying in this Victorian house that had been converted into apartments. My heat frequently would go off so ... we were like layering up and putting like sweaters and coats on and going to bed in that."
Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. Accordingly, Sink also dealt with wasps during production. Sink explained that it became another huge chore she had to contend with after they wrapped up shooting each day. "Once spring hit, wasps were just everywhere," she recollected. "So it was like my side hustle. I'd just get home from work, but the day wasn't over yet. I had a catch-and-release mission."
So while it's true that some actors may live extravagant lifestyles, they usually earn that privilege because they often have to work through miserable conditions. And they suffer through all of this to entertain us.