In 2022, Brendan Fraser made a dramatic career turnaround that made waves in Hollywood and caught the media’s attention with the release of the highly acclaimed film The Whale, which was directed by Darren Aronofsky. Fraser was once a rising star in American cinema, however, he took a long hiatus due to his health and family problems.
Following in the footsteps of other big names such as Matthew McConaughey and Robert Pattinson in the industry, Fraser has undergone a significant rebranding and has emerged from relative obscurity to become one of the most talked-about figures in Hollywood. His career transformation has been a topic of conversation among industry insiders and fans alike.
Brendan Fraser’s initial foray into Hollywood
Fraser began his Hollywood career in the early 1990s, making his feature film debut in the 1991 movie, Dogfight. He quickly followed this up with his first leading role in the 1992 comedy Encino Man and also earned critical acclaim for his performance in the drama School Ties.
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Fraser achieved his first major box office success in 1997 with the comedy film George of the Jungle, co-starring Leslie Mann. The film grossed almost $180 million worldwide and saw the 54-year-old play a satirical version of Tarzan, based on a popular cartoon series. The success of the film helped to establish Fraser as a leading man in Hollywood and paved the way for future roles in big-budget productions.
He also found further success when he featured as Rick O’Connell in the action-adventure The Mummy trilogy, 1999’s The Mummy, The Mummy Returns in 2001, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.
Throughout the early 2000s, the actor continued to star in several successful films, including Bedazzled, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and the Oscar-winning drama Crash, while also making several guest appearances on popular TV shows such as Scrubs, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons.
Brendan Fraser experiences a halt in his career
After his appearance in The Mummy movie in 2008, the actor began to experience some difficulties due to the stress of performing his own stunts. In his 2018 GQ profile, Fraser revealed that he had to undergo a series of surgeries. “I needed a laminectomy. And the lumbar didn’t take, so they had to do it again a year later,” he told the news outlet.
While dealing with his surgeries, he was also grappling with personal difficulties. In December 2007, Fraser and his wife Afton Smith, with whom he shared three children, announced their separation after nine years of marriage.” I changed houses; I went through a divorce,” he told GQ. “Some kids were born. I mean, they were born, but they’re growing up. I was going through things that mold and shape you in ways that you’re not ready for until you go through them.”
Brendan Fraser returns back to the limelight
In 2018, Brendan Fraser returned back to Hollywood and secured a series of television roles, with his most notable being the voice of Robotman on the series Titans. He later reprised the role on the HBO Max show Doom Patrol which got fans expressing their excitement about his comeback to the acting world. Brendan Fraser continued his collaboration with DC Comics in October 2021 by starring as the villain Firefly in the Batgirl film, which featured Leslie Grace, Michael Keaton, and J.K. Simmons.
Fraser was also cast to play the lead role in Aronofsky’s film, The Whale. Fraser revealed to Vanity Fair that he was specifically chosen to play the part of a reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher who has difficulty forming connections with his daughter and others. “He said he wanted an actor to reintroduce,” he explained to the magazine. “And I wanted to be reintroduced.”