Brendan Fraserexperienced thesort of rise to fame and subsequently rapid rejectionby Hollywood that is often seen with so-called “sex symbols”. With his latest project garnering high praise, Fraser stands poised to turn a new leaf in what may well be a full career resurgence.
Early Life and Career Onset
Born to a globe-trotting band of Canadian Americans, Brendan Fraser experienced the sort of diversity of rich life experiences that often bring a distinctly wise quality to an actor’s work. Having found interest in the profession after a visit to London’s West End, Fraser dove into his chosen profession with a passion for storytelling. His first roles, however, were more along the lines of slapstick comedies. These projects did not illuminate the young actor’s raw talent, and a series of projects ranging from comedies to psychological thrillers proved to be box office bombs. Fraser got his big break in 1997 with the success of the comedic filmGeorge of the Jungle, telling the story of a Tarzan-like young man raised among apes in the jungle.
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Rise as a Hollywood Sex Symbol
With much of the appeal of the film attributed to its unconventional and witty romantic plot line, Fraser was catapulted into the limelight as a rising sex symbol in Hollywood. His portrayal of this wild, tanned, muscular, and of course scantily-clad jungle-dwelling man, Fraser captivated audiences with his desirability. While this status can often build momentum in an actor’s career, so too can it stagnant career evolution as the actor becomes typecast in one-dimensional roles whose overarching purpose within a storyline is to make the movie sexy. Regardless, Fraser was able to book a role in the dramatic filmGods and Monsters, for which he received critical acclaim.
His next box office victory was withThe Mummy, the series that solidified Fraser’s reputation as both a worthy entertainer and an equally irresistible leading man. While the movie offered a substantial plot to engage the audience, and thus respectable roles for its actors, the magnetism of Fraser’s character and the chemistry between him and Weisz further secured his position as a heart-throb. It was then not long, however, while still riding the success ofThe Mummy, that Brendan Fraser’s career would take a turn.
At a Hollywood lunch in 2003, Fraser alleges that he was groped by Philip Berk, then president of HFPA, the agency directly in charge of running the annual Golden Globe Awards. Fraser claims that his career suffered thereafter, with his subsequent complaints resulting in him being essentially blacklisted from the industry. His marriage crumbled shortly thereafter, and Fraser admittedly fell into a serious depression coupled with a notable career rut.
The decline in booking film roles is evident in Fraser’s work history, with his career veering away from the film industry he was primed to dominate, and the meat of his work relying instead on television appearances. Around this time, Fraser was struggling to keep up with a whopping $900,000 a year in alimony and child support (the bulk of which was the alimony portion), unsuccessfully battling with the courts for reprieve. As one can imagine, the pressure for Fraser to reignite his career was all the more urgent on account of this.
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The Me Too Movement and Career Resurgence
The Me Too movement was a powerful time in Hollywood, wherein people in the television and film industries not only were able to seek justice for their abuse, but in which careers were therefore revived and reputations rectified. Fraser was among those who were brought back into the spotlight as fans were enlightened as to why the star suffered such a steep and seemingly inexplicable decline. After coming forward with his allegations, which Berk denies despite admitting to having “pinched” Fraser’s backside jokingly, people began to see Fraser in a new light. The objectification, and therefore dehumanization, of Fraser as a sex symbol was acknowledged, in a movement where women were overwhelmingly revealed as the victims of such. He was not alone in receiving public vindication for this exact sort of unjust career sabotage.
Megan Fox also spoke up during the Me Too movement, doubling down on her claims that unfair and sexist treatment from Michael Bay caused her to be blacklisted in the industry. Fellow actor Terry Crews also spoke up about the abuse male actors are subject to, recounting his experience of being groped inappropriately by a Hollywood executive. Unlike Fox and Fraser, Crews felt unable to stand up for himself at all out of fear of being labeled with racially biased headlines.
Like Fox, Fraser was able to enjoy a reintroduction into the public eye— this time through a more tender and sensitive lens. The stage was now set for Fraser to make a grand re-entrance, with studios fully aware that the public was now actively rooting for his comeback. Brendan Fraser’s comeback is exactly what is playing out before us.
The Whalehas been an ingenious career movefor Fraser as the film garners controversy among critics and simultaneous unanimous acclaim for Fraser’s performance. The film is regarded in some reviews as a powerful captivation of loneliness and self-hatred,while others see it as a sneerat those whose lives mirror Fraser’s character of Charlie. Regardless, Fraser’sportrayal of this isolated and troubled mandesperate to reconnect with his teenage daughter shines, with audiences drawn in by both the media buzz and the reemergence of the elusive Fraser. Fellow stars are lauding Fraser’s performance, with audiences at the Venice Film Festival, giving him an over six-minute standing ovation.
Perhaps the most significant indicator of a new chapter in not only Fraser’s career but personal life, ishis nomination for Best Actor at the 80th Golden Globes, the ceremony he was once shunned from. The momentum does not appear to be halting anytime soon for Fraser, who is now slated to appear inKillers of the Flower Moon(2023) alongside Leonardo Dicaprio and Robert De Niro, and the yet unscheduled release ofBrothers.
