Brendan Fraser was one of many largest motion stars of the ’90s and early ’00s, however he later receded from the general public eye — leaving followers eagerly awaiting his comeback.
The Indiana native made his movie debut in 1991’s Dogfight, one 12 months earlier than Encino Man and College Ties turned him right into a heartthrob. The latter movie additionally starred Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris O’Donnell, who — like Fraser — weren’t but the A-list stars they might later change into.
“Most of them had carried out no work in any respect,” College Ties director Robert Mandel informed Yahoo in September 2022. “Chris had carried out one film, but it surely was a small movie that wasn’t extensively seen. So, you couldn’t reference lots of their previous work.”
After racking up extra credit in Airheads, Glory Daze and extra, Fraser landed the position that catapulted him to a good increased degree of stardom: the titular character in George of the Jungle. The comedy earned blended critiques however was a field workplace hit, and its main man turned a family identify.
Two years later, the Belief alum established himself as an motion star in The Mummy, which turned a worldwide success and launched a franchise that included two sequels, a prequel and an animated sequence. “It was a real-life journey,” Fraser informed Popverse in September 2022 of capturing the 1999 film on location in Morocco. “We didn’t know what we had on our fingers, and there was a sure sense of liberty and pleasure about it.”
Fraser then expanded his repertoire with roles in dramas together with 2002’s The Quiet American and the Oscar-winning 2004 movie Crash, however as his star rose, his private life started to falter. In 2007, he and spouse Afton Smith introduced their plans to divorce. As a part of the settlement, Fraser was ordered to pay $900,000 per 12 months in alimony and little one assist. The previous couple are the dad and mom of three sons: Griffin (born in 2002), Holden (born in 2004) and Leland (born in 2006).
The Monkeybone star’s bodily well being, nevertheless, started to undergo following his position as Rick O’Connell. “By the point I did the third Mummy image in China [in 2008], I used to be put along with tape and ice — simply, like, actually nerdy and fetishy about ice packs,” Fraser informed GQ in February 2018. “I used to be constructing an exoskeleton for myself each day.” The Scrubs alum finally underwent spinal surgical procedure, a partial knee alternative and a vocal twine process.
In the identical interview, Fraser claimed that he was sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, a former president of the Hollywood Overseas Press Affiliation, in 2003. “It made me really feel reclusive,” the Bedazzled star stated of the alleged incident. “In my thoughts, not less than, one thing had been taken away from me.” Berk, for his half, referred to as Fraser’s account “a complete fabrication.”
Fraser lastly appeared poised for a comeback — or within the parlance of his followers, a “Brenaissance” — within the late 2010s. He landed a task on Showtime’s acclaimed drama The Affair and scored a component in Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon, and in 2022, he started producing Oscar buzz together with his efficiency in The Whale.
“This can be a prime alternative,” Fraser informed Vainness Honest in August 2022 of his gig within the Darren Aronofsky movie. “I wished to vanish into it. My hope was that I might change into unrecognizable.”
Maintain scrolling for a glance again at Fraser’s profession.
Credit score: John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Brendan Fraser By way of the Years: Motion Stardom, Oscar Buzz and Extra
Brendan Fraser was one of many largest motion stars of the ’90s and early ’00s, however he later receded from the general public eye — leaving followers eagerly awaiting his comeback.
The Indiana native made his movie debut in 1991’s Dogfight, one 12 months earlier than Encino Man and College Ties turned him right into a heartthrob. The latter movie additionally starred Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris O’Donnell, who — like Fraser — weren’t but the A-list stars they might later change into.
“Most of them had carried out no work in any respect,” College Ties director Robert Mandel informed Yahoo in September 2022. “Chris had carried out one film, but it surely was a small movie that wasn’t extensively seen. So, you could not reference lots of their previous work.”
After racking up extra credit in Airheads, Glory Daze and extra, Fraser landed the position that catapulted him to a good increased degree of stardom: the titular character in George of the Jungle. The comedy earned blended critiques however was a field workplace hit, and its main man turned a family identify.
Two years later, the Belief alum established himself as an motion star in The Mummy, which turned a worldwide success and launched a franchise that included two sequels, a prequel and an animated sequence. “It was a real-life journey,” Fraser informed Popverse in September 2022 of capturing the 1999 film on location in Morocco. “We did not know what we had on our fingers, and there was a sure sense of liberty and pleasure about it.”
Fraser then expanded his repertoire with roles in dramas together with 2002’s The Quiet American and the Oscar-winning 2004 movie Crash, however as his star rose, his private life started to falter. In 2007, he and spouse Afton Smith introduced their plans to divorce. As a part of the settlement, Fraser was ordered to pay $900,000 per 12 months in alimony and little one assist. The previous couple are the dad and mom of three sons: Griffin (born in 2002), Holden (born in 2004) and Leland (born in 2006).
The Monkeybone star’s bodily well being, nevertheless, started to undergo following his position as Rick O’Connell. “By the point I did the third Mummy image in China [in 2008], I used to be put along with tape and ice — simply, like, actually nerdy and fetishy about ice packs,” Fraser informed GQ in February 2018. “I used to be constructing an exoskeleton for myself each day.” The Scrubs alum finally underwent spinal surgical procedure, a partial knee alternative and a vocal twine process.
In the identical interview, Fraser claimed that he was sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, a former president of the Hollywood Overseas Press Affiliation, in 2003. “It made me really feel reclusive,” the Bedazzled star stated of the alleged incident. “In my thoughts, not less than, one thing had been taken away from me.” Berk, for his half, referred to as Fraser’s account “a complete fabrication.”
Fraser lastly appeared poised for a comeback — or within the parlance of his followers, a “Brenaissance” — within the late 2010s. He landed a task on Showtime’s acclaimed drama The Affair and scored a component in Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon, and in 2022, he started producing Oscar buzz together with his efficiency in The Whale.
“This can be a prime alternative,” Fraser informed Vainness Honest in August 2022 of his gig within the Darren Aronofsky movie. “I wished to vanish into it. My hope was that I might change into unrecognizable.”
Maintain scrolling for a glance again at Fraser’s profession.
Credit score: Moviestore/Shutterstock
1992
The Saturn Award nominee turned a crush object for a lot of ’90s teenagers after showing in Encino Man and College Ties.
Credit score: Moviestore/Shutterstock
1997
Fraser headlined the household movie George of the Jungle, which additionally starred Leslie Mann and Thomas Haden Church. Mann — who was already in a relationship with husband Judd Apatow on the time — later stated that Fraser was her “work crush” throughout filming. “He was simply pleasant and humorous,” the This Is 40 star informed Busy Phillips in 2019. “I used to be like, ‘Judd, I really like Brendan.’ And he is like, ‘I do know.'”
Credit score: Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock
1998
The Inkheart star and Smith tied the knot after 5 years of courting. The duo met in 1993 throughout a 4th of July get together at Winona Ryder‘s home.
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1999
Fraser starred in The Mummy, which made him certainly one of Hollywood’s hottest main males.
Credit score: twentieth Century Fox/Ocean/Kobal/Shutterstock
2000
The Mrs. Winterbourne star tried his hand at romantic comedy, showing alongside Elizabeth Hurley in Bedazzled.
Credit score: Lions Gate/Kobal/Shutterstock
2006
Fraser was a part of the ensemble forged for Crash, which later dwelling the Oscar for Greatest Image in 2006. The Gimme Shelter star earned a Display Actors Guild Award together with the remainder of the forged for Excellent Efficiency by a Solid in a Movement Image.
Credit score: Mediapunch/Shutterstock
2007
The Blast From the Previous actor and Smith introduced their cut up. Their divorce was finalized two years later.
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2008
Fraser appeared in his last Mummy movie, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The franchise was later rebooted with out him in 2017, with Tom Cruise taking up because the lead actor. Plans for a brand new franchise had been scrapped after the brand new movie carried out poorly on the field workplace.
Credit score: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
2013
The Extraordinary Measures star petitioned the courtroom for lowered alimony funds, claiming that he may now not afford to pay $50,000 per thirty days. Smith, for her half, alleged that her ex was hiding a few of his monetary belongings.
Credit score: Shutterstock
2016
The Doom Patrol voiceover actor did an interview with AOL Construct to advertise his position on The Affair, however followers turned involved about how unhappy he appeared whereas talking. Fraser later revealed that his mom died days earlier than the Q&A. “I buried my mother. I believe I used to be in mourning, and I did not know what that meant,” he informed GQ in 2018, noting that he hadn’t carried out a lot press in that interval. “I wasn’t fairly positive what the format was. And I felt like: ‘Man, I bought f–king outdated. Rattling, that is the best way it is carried out now?’”
Credit score: David Fisher/Shutterstock
2018
Fraser opened up about his near-disappearance from Hollywood in a GQ profile, during which he revealed his well being points, defined the viral AOL Construct interview and got here ahead together with his allegations about Berk. “I modified homes; I went by way of a divorce,” he stated of the Q&A. “Some children had been born. I imply, they had been born, however they’re rising up. I used to be going by way of issues that mildew and form you in ways in which you are not prepared for till you undergo them.”
Credit score: Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock
2021
The Pawn Store Chronicles star appeared in a viral TikTok video the place he teared up whereas listening to that his followers had been nonetheless “rooting” for his success.
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2022
Fraser was delivered to tears after The Whale earned a six-minute standing ovation following its premiere on the Venice Worldwide Movie Pageant.
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2022
4 years after Fraser got here ahead together with his allegations in opposition to Phillip Berk, he slammed the HFPA’s dealing with of the scenario, which he claimed to GQ concerned each him and Berk signing a press release that declared the incident “was supposed to be taken as a joke and never as a sexual advance.” Fraser refused to signal the assertion and the previous HFPA president confronted no disciplinary motion.
“I knew they might shut ranks,” the actor informed GQ in November 2022. “I knew they might kick the can down the street. I knew they might get forward of the story. I knew that I definitely had no future with that system because it was.” Fraser added that if he did earn a Golden Globe nomination for The Whale, he would skip the ceremony in protest. “I’ve extra historical past with the Hollywood Overseas Press Affiliation than I’ve respect for the Hollywood Overseas Press Affiliation. No, I cannot take part.”
Credit score: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
January 2023
Fraser took dwelling the Greatest Actor trophy on the 2023 Critics’ Alternative Awards, tearing up as he made his speech.
“Thanks for this honor,” he stated throughout the broadcast. “It was Herman Melville who as soon as wrote that, ‘There are solely 5 critics in America. The remainder are asleep.’ I don’t know what it means both however I’m so glad you awakened for me! The place had been you for Furry Vengeance?”
He added: “This film, The Whale, is about love, it’s about redemption [and] it’s about discovering the sunshine in a darkish place and I’m so fortunate to have labored with an ensemble that’s unbelievable.”
