Content warning this article talks about sexual assault and mental health struggles
From exploring Egypt to trending on Twitter for playing on his Nintendo Switch, Brendan Fraser is a true star.
Brendan Fraser is known for his roles in The Mummy (1999), George in the Jungle (1997) and Doom Patrol (2019).
The Canadian-American actor has seen a well-deserved comeback after his successful film The Whale in 2022. During the premiere, he received a six-minute standing ovation for his role.
People love Brendan Fraser because of his astounding performances in movies and TV shows they loved, he is a wholesome and genuinely nice person, and he has risen against impossible challenges.
Fraser’s acting career was its strongest in the 90s with many films and TV series that made him a household name. He has won 31 awards and been nominated for 80 over his exciting career.
However, in the early 2000s, he began to endure great hardship.
Former film critic Philip Berk, who was involved with the Golden Globes, sexually assaulted Fraser in 2003. Brendan did not go public about the assault until 2018 but was blacklisted from the Golden Globes after he made the accusation in 2003. The assault started a long period of depression which Fraser blamed himself for.
In 2006, he and his ex-wife Afton Smith separated, and divorced in 2009, and she demanded $900,000 a year in alimony, which Fraser struggled to afford.
Fraser starred in The Mummy 3 (2008) which was less successful than the first film, which had stunts that injured him. He had surgery to fix his vocal chords and was in and out of the hospital for seven years for a partial knee replacement, a slipped spinal disk and cracked ribs.
He also lost his mother to cancer in 2016 after a long period of illness.
After years of what seemed hopeless and dark, Fraser landed the role of Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. His character is an English teacher who wants to connect with his estranged teenage daughter played by Sadie Sink. He went on to win an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance.
And despite the suffering he has endured, as well as the success he has enjoyed, he is still humble. While choking back tears during his acceptance speech at the Critics Choice Awards in 2023, Fraser said: “If you just feel like you’re in a dark sea, I want you to know that if you too have the strength to just get to your feet and go to the light good things will happen.”
And now, he is filming his latest movie, Rental Family, a story about an actor in Japan who becomes a surrogate father for a little girl coming out this November.
It is clear that Brendan Fraser can amaze audiences in any role, from comedy to adventure to thriller. He is a true star.
Featured image credit: Montclair Film via Wikimedia Commons
Third year journalism student. 2025/2026 Lifestyle and Comment Editor at Brig. Published in The Yucatán Times, Mi Campeche and The Mourning Paper. Host of From the 40s with Air3Radio.
