SNL: Woody Harrelson Spoofs ‘The Whale’

February 26, 2023

“I had to eat breadcrumbs. Does anyone know what this is? Pressed beef fat and corn syrup.”

If there’s one award-winning movie that lends itself most easily to parody, it might be Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale . Starring Brendan Fraser as an obese online English teacher, the now-Oscar-nominated actor wears a rather thick fat suit to play the role and has come to terms with the impending end of his life.

And so, of course, “Saturday Night Live” capitalized on the film’s controversial narrative, with five-time host Woody Harrelson spoofing the Oscar-nominated film in a new sketch. He plays an actor who gained 450 pounds by eating “gristle loaf”—that’s “pressed beef fat and corn syrup”—made into a loaf. “I ate nine of these a day because I thought I was going to win the Oscar.”

“SNL” cast member Chloe Fineman plays an actress (portraying Sadie Sink in the film) who worries about dying her hair brown for her role. However, the film here is not called “The Whale” but “The Hippo” and Harrelson plays an actor named Keith who is upset about the lengths he had to go for the role.

Harrelson stars in “Triangle of Sadness,” which was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay for Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund. The two-time Palme d’Or winner’s choppy and cathartic satire about the über-rich probably won’t win any of the top prizes at the Oscars, but it’s been widely acclaimed since its premiere at Cannes in 2022 and its release last fall.

Harrelson also stars in Bobby Farrelly’s Champions for Focus Features, which opens March 10 for the thrilling sports comedy.

And Brendan Fraser is an Oscar contender for his physically exhausting performance in “The Whale,” which earned him his first Oscar nomination.

Watch the “Saturday Night Live” sketch below.