Brendan Fraser was one of the biggest action stars of the ’90s and early ’00s, but he later receded from the public eye — leaving fans eagerly awaiting his comeback.
The Indiana native made his film debut in 1991’s Dogfight, one year before Encino Man and School Ties turned him into a heartthrob. The latter film also starred Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris O’Donnell, who — like Fraser — weren’t yet the A-list stars they would later become.
“Most of them had done no work at all,” School Ties director Robert Mandel told Yahoo in September 2022. “Chris had done one movie, but it was a small film that wasn’t widely seen. So, you couldn’t reference a lot of their past work.”
After racking up more credits in Airheads, Glory Daze and more, Fraser landed the role that catapulted him to an even higher level of stardom: the titular character in George of the Jungle. The comedy earned mixed reviews but was a box office hit, and its leading man became a household name.
Two years later, the Trust alum established himself as an action star in The Mummy, which became a worldwide success and launched a franchise that included two sequels, a prequel and an animated series. “It was a real-life adventure,” Fraser told Popverse in September 2022 of shooting the 1999 movie on location in Morocco. “We didn’t know what we had on our hands, and there was a certain sense of liberty and excitement about it.”
Fraser then expanded his repertoire with roles in dramas including 2002’s The Quiet American and the Oscar-winning 2004 film Crash, but as his star rose, his personal life began to falter. In 2007, he and wife Afton Smith announced their plans to divorce. As part of the settlement, Fraser was ordered to pay $900,000 per year in alimony and child support. The former couple are the parents of three sons: Griffin (born in 2002), Holden (born in 2004) and Leland (born in 2006).
The Monkeybone star’s physical health, however, began to suffer following his role as Rick O’Connell. “By the time I did the third Mummy picture in China [in 2008], I was put together with tape and ice — just, like, really nerdy and fetishy about ice packs,” Fraser told GQ in February 2018. “I was building an exoskeleton for myself daily.” The Scrubs alum eventually underwent spinal surgery, a partial knee replacement and a vocal cord procedure.
In the same interview, Fraser claimed that he was sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, a former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, in 2003. “It made me feel reclusive,” the Bedazzled star said of the alleged incident. “In my mind, at least, something had been taken away from me.” Berk, for his part, called Fraser’s account “a total fabrication.”
Fraser finally seemed poised for a comeback — or in the parlance of his fans, a “Brenaissance” — in the late 2010s. He landed a role on Showtime’s acclaimed drama The Affair and scored a part in Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon, and in 2022, he began generating Oscar buzz with his performance in The Whale.
“This is a prime opportunity,” Fraser told Vanity Fair in August 2022 of his gig in the Darren Aronofsky film. “I wanted to disappear into it. My hope was that I would become unrecognizable.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at Fraser’s career.
Credit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Brendan Fraser Through the Years: Action Stardom, Oscar Buzz and More
Brendan Fraser was one of the biggest action stars of the ’90s and early ’00s, but he later receded from the public eye — leaving fans eagerly awaiting his comeback.
The Indiana native made his film debut in 1991’s Dogfight, one year before Encino Man and School Ties turned him into a heartthrob. The latter film also starred Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris O’Donnell, who — like Fraser — weren’t yet the A-list stars they would later become.
“Most of them had done no work at all,” School Ties director Robert Mandel told Yahoo in September 2022. “Chris had done one movie, but it was a small film that wasn’t widely seen. So, you couldn’t reference a lot of their past work.”
After racking up more credits in Airheads, Glory Daze and more, Fraser landed the role that catapulted him to an even higher level of stardom: the titular character in George of the Jungle. The comedy earned mixed reviews but was a box office hit, and its leading man became a household name.
Two years later, the Trust alum established himself as an action star in The Mummy, which became a worldwide success and launched a franchise that included two sequels, a prequel and an animated series. “It was a real-life adventure,” Fraser told Popverse in September 2022 of shooting the 1999 movie on location in Morocco. “We didn’t know what we had on our hands, and there was a certain sense of liberty and excitement about it.”
Fraser then expanded his repertoire with roles in dramas including 2002’s The Quiet American and the Oscar-winning 2004 film Crash, but as his star rose, his personal life began to falter. In 2007, he and wife Afton Smith announced their plans to divorce. As part of the settlement, Fraser was ordered to pay $900,000 per year in alimony and child support. The former couple are the parents of three sons: Griffin (born in 2002), Holden (born in 2004) and Leland (born in 2006).
The Monkeybone star’s physical health, however, began to suffer following his role as Rick O’Connell. “By the time I did the third Mummy picture in China [in 2008], I was put together with tape and ice — just, like, really nerdy and fetishy about ice packs,” Fraser told GQ in February 2018. “I was building an exoskeleton for myself daily.” The Scrubs alum eventually underwent spinal surgery, a partial knee replacement and a vocal cord procedure.
In the same interview, Fraser claimed that he was sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, a former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, in 2003. “It made me feel reclusive,” the Bedazzled star said of the alleged incident. “In my mind, at least, something had been taken away from me.” Berk, for his part, called Fraser’s account “a total fabrication.”
Fraser finally seemed poised for a comeback — or in the parlance of his fans, a “Brenaissance” — in the late 2010s. He landed a role on Showtime’s acclaimed drama The Affair and scored a part in Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon, and in 2022, he began generating Oscar buzz with his performance in The Whale.
“This is a prime opportunity,” Fraser told Vanity Fair in August 2022 of his gig in the Darren Aronofsky film. “I wanted to disappear into it. My hope was that I would become unrecognizable.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at Fraser’s career.
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
1992
The Saturn Award nominee became a crush object for many ’90s teens after appearing in Encino Man and School Ties.
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
1997
Fraser headlined the family film George of the Jungle, which also starred Leslie Mann and Thomas Haden Church. Mann — who was already in a relationship with husband Judd Apatow at the time — later said that Fraser was her “work crush” during filming. “He was just delightful and funny,” the This Is 40 star told Busy Phillips in 2019. “I was like, ‘Judd, I love Brendan.’ And he’s like, ‘I know.'”
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1998
The Inkheart star and Smith tied the knot after five years of dating. The duo met in 1993 during a 4th of July party at Winona Ryder‘s house.
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1999
Fraser starred in The Mummy, which made him one of Hollywood’s hottest leading men.
Credit: 20th Century Fox/Ocean/Kobal/Shutterstock
2000
The Mrs. Winterbourne star tried his hand at romantic comedy, appearing alongside Elizabeth Hurley in Bedazzled.
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2006
Fraser was part of the ensemble cast for Crash, which later home the Oscar for Best Picture in 2006. The Gimme Shelter star earned a Screen Actors Guild Award along with the rest of the cast for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
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2007
The Blast From the Past actor and Smith announced their split. Their divorce was finalized two years later.
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2008
Fraser appeared in his final Mummy film, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The franchise was later rebooted without him in 2017, with Tom Cruise taking over as the lead actor. Plans for a new franchise were scrapped after the new film performed poorly at the box office.
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2013
The Extraordinary Measures star petitioned the court for reduced alimony payments, claiming that he could no longer afford to pay $50,000 per month. Smith, for her part, alleged that her ex was hiding some of his financial assets.
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2016
The Doom Patrol voiceover actor did an interview with AOL Build to promote his role on The Affair, but fans became concerned about how sad he looked while speaking. Fraser later revealed that his mother died days before the Q&A. “I buried my mom. I think I was in mourning, and I didn’t know what that meant,” he told GQ in 2018, noting that he hadn’t done much press in that period. “I wasn’t quite sure what the format was. And I felt like: ‘Man, I got f–king old. Damn, this is the way it’s done now?’”
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2018
Fraser opened up about his near-disappearance from Hollywood in a GQ profile, in which he revealed his health issues, explained the viral AOL Build interview and came forward with his allegations about Berk. “I changed houses; I went through a divorce,” he said of the Q&A. “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.”
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2021
The Pawn Shop Chronicles star appeared in a viral TikTok video where he teared up while hearing that his fans were still “rooting” for his success.
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2022
Fraser was brought to tears after The Whale earned a six-minute standing ovation following its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
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2022
Four years after Fraser came forward with his allegations against Phillip Berk, he slammed the HFPA’s handling of the situation, which he claimed to GQ involved both him and Berk signing a statement that declared the incident “was intended to be taken as a joke and not as a sexual advance.” Fraser refused to sign the statement and the former HFPA president faced no disciplinary action.
“I knew they would close ranks,” the actor told GQ in November 2022. “I knew they would kick the can down the road. I knew they would get ahead of the story. I knew that I certainly had no future with that system as it was.” Fraser added that if he did earn a Golden Globe nomination for The Whale, he would skip the ceremony in protest. “I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. No, I will not participate.”
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
January 2023
Fraser took home the Best Actor trophy at the 2023 Critics’ Choice Awards, tearing up as he made his speech.
“Thanks for this honor,” he said during the broadcast. “It was Herman Melville who once wrote that, ‘There are only five critics in America. The rest are asleep.’ I don’t know what it means either but I’m so glad you woke up for me! Where were you for Furry Vengeance?”
He added: “This movie, The Whale, is about love, it’s about redemption [and] it’s about finding the light in a dark place and I’m so lucky to have worked with an ensemble that is incredible.”