Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser in Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards 2009 by Charlie Llewellin – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Brendan Fraser


 

Born in the 20th Century, Brendan Fraser is an American-Canadian actor who has played numerous leading roles in comedy and fantasy films.

Brendan spent most of the 1990s as an in-demand Hollywood star. He starred in films including the timeless George of the jungle, Encino man, Airheads, Dudley Do-right, and the booming action franchise The Mummy trilogy.

Fraser branched into dramatic cinema and later had successful roles in various television series. This though did not last long when an alleged sexual assault incident was discovered that left Brendan’s career to spiral downhill leaving him depressed.

This however did not deter the actor as his career is steadily rising with him starring in various films including the upcoming DC movie the Batgirl. Brendan Fraser is a father of three,  Griffin Author Fraser, Leland Francis Fraser and Holden Fletcher Fraser.

1. Brendan Fraser lived in 3 countries and 4 different states as a child

Photo by Amy Humphries on Unsplash

Brendan, the youngest of the four boys, was born on 3rd December 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Brendan has three older siblings Kevin, Reagan, and Sean.

He was born to Canadian parents, Carol Mary was a sales counsellor, and Peter Fraser, a former journalist, toiled as a Canadian foreign service officer for the Government Office of Tourism.

Due to Peter Fraser’s line of work, the family moved a lot during his childhood living in California, Washington, Ontario, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. This later came in handy in his acting career.

2. Brendan Fraser’s first acting debut was on America’s Most Wanted 

His first acting debut, in 1988, was on a documentary series America’s Most Wanted. The series impressively used actors to recreate incidents of major crime scenes. His debut happened after he attended Seattle Cornish College of the Art after which he headed to Hollywood.

Fraser played the role of being a friend to a murdered character, Rodney Marked Peterson. His first appearance was during the first year of the series. The series eventually got cancelled in 2013.

Three years later, he caught his big break and secured a role as a sailor heading to Vietnam in Dogfight. Soon after, his career began to take off.

3. His first box office success was in George of the jungle

Brendan had his first major box office success in 1977 on a comedy film based on an animated series George of the Jungle by John Ward. Between 1994 to 1996, Brendan starred in films that were considered box office failures after their release.

These include The Scout, With Honors, and Airheads (where he co-starred with Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi). Fraser was revered for his dramatic role in Gods and Monsters in 1999, which was based on the life of James Whale.

His greatest mainstream success came in the adventure fantasy film ‘The Mummy’ where he played Rick O’ Connell.

4. Brendan Fraser was the first American-born actor to get a star on the Canadian walk of Fame

Brendan Fraser at Canada’s walk of fame

Brendan Fraser at Canada’s walk of fame by cdnmusicdiva – Wikimedia Commons

Fraser is the first Canadian-American-born actor to receive the honour on the Canadian walk of fame in Toronto. This was after his career was booming as he managed to get leading roles in films. He went ahead to donate his salary from Gimme Shelter, released in 2013, to charity.

5. He beat Nicholas Cage and Jim Carey for the lead on Encino  

Brendan got his first leading film role in Encino man in 1992. It was a moderate box office success where he played the role of a frozen pre-historic caveman that was thawed out in the present day. He beat Nicholas Cage and Jim Carrey for the lead role. 

6.Brendan was Considered to play Superman 

Superman Logo and the House of EI by DC Comics – Wikimedia Commons

Fraser was one of the famous actors considered in the early 2000s for a reset of the Superman film franchise. Even though it did not get as far as a screen test, Fraser felt disappointed when the role eventually went to Brandon Routh.

Brandon played Superman in 2006s Superman Returns despite the meetings Brendan Fraser had had with the then would-be director Brett Ratner at Brett’s home.

7. His favorite amusement is photography and his love for animals

Camera Photo by DariuszSankowski – Pixabay

Brendan has a passion for the art form of photography. Not only does he do it in his day-to-day life, but also incorporates it into his roles one being in television’s famous ‘Scrubs’.

Fraser decided to begin taking photos of the exotic places he was while shooting films. He exhibited his work with the proceeds going to the local 24th Street Theatre troupe.

His love for animals especially horses would not go unseen and how he connects with animals on set.  He adopted a horse from the Texas rising set for his oldest son Griffin who is rated on the autism spectrum. 

8.Fraser’s near-death experience led him to star in a film

He starred in various films, including The Mummy Franchise, Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), and others, which required a lot of physical stunts which later took a toll on his physical health.

Fraser had gone through several surgeries by the late 2000s. This included spinal procedures, vocal cord surgery, partial knee replacement, and a laminectomy.

For instance, when he played Rick O’Connell, as the protagonist in The Mummy Franchise he almost choked to death during an early scene.

The scene involved him being executed by hanging. It went wrong and he legally died and was brought back by the on-set paramedics. However, this near-death experience led him to be chosen to star in a film on the same.

9. Brendan’s Fall from fame 

Despite Brendan’s numerous box office booming films, Fraser identified a decline in his numbers after appearing in films like the Looney Toons and Monkeybone.

Fraser claimed to be ‘blacklisted’ after he spoke out in an interview about his sexual assault incident by a previous president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Phillip Berk. This led Fraser to spiral into depression and the general decline of his career in Hollywood in the mid-2000s.

10. Brendan Fraser’s Comeback 

His fans recently supported him by starting a change.org petition to directors and filmmakers. The goal of the petition was to bring back Brendan Fraser into film and television.

This was after his interview in 2010 when he seemed unhappy with how his career was unfolding. He is later seen on a post on his birthday, on set working on a new project. This made his fans really excited to see him back.

Fraser’s career seems to be recovering as he continues to land more roles these days with his long-awaited comeback in Hollywood in DC’s upcoming Batgirl movie, The Whale and Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Brendan Fraser’s career has been through ups and downs but his sheer grit and resilience enabled him to surpass the hurdles he faced. His long-awaited comeback continues to fill his fans with great joy and they cannot wait to see him on the screens.

 

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