Fraser's film work slowed from the late 2000s to mid-2010s due to poor box office performances, and various health and personal issues, including the fallout from asexual assault committed against him in 2003 byPhilip Berk, the then-president of theHollywood Foreign Press Association.[3][4] In addition to films, Fraser branched into television with roles in theShowtime dramaThe Affair (2016–2017),[5][6] theFX seriesTrust (2018),[7] and theHBO Max seriesDoom Patrol (2019–2023).[8]
Fraser was born on December 3, 1968,[10] inIndianapolis, Indiana, to Canadian parents Carol Mary (née Généreux; 1937–2016) and Peter Fraser. He is the youngest of four siblings; his brothers are Kevin, Sean, and Regan.[11] His mother was a sales counselor, and his father was a former journalist who worked as aCanadian foreign service officer for the Government Office of Tourism.[12][13] His maternal uncle,George Genereux, was theonly Canadian to win a gold medal in the1952 Summer Olympics, at theOlympic Trap.[14] Fraser and his three older brothers[15] have Irish, Scottish, German, Czech, and French-Canadian ancestry.[16] He holds dual American and Canadian citizenship.[17]
While on vacation inLondon, England, in the 1970s, he attended his first professional theater-show,Oliver!, in theWest End, which sparked his interest in acting.[20][21][22] He also joined the chorus of a high-school musical production ofOklahoma![23]
In 1991, Fraser made his film debut with a small role as a seaman headed to Vietnam inDogfight. He got his first leading film role alongsideSean Astin andPauly Shore in the 1992 comedy filmEncino Man, where he played a frozen pre-historic caveman who is thawed out in the present day.[26] The film was a moderate box office success and has gained a cult following.[27] That same year he starred inSchool Ties with fellow rising actorsMatt Damon,Ben Affleck, andChris O'Donnell as a Jewish star quarterback confronting embedded anti-semitism in private prep school society.[28]
He had his first major box office success with the 1997 comedy filmGeorge of the Jungle which was based on the animated series of the same title created byJay Ward.
Fraser received critical acclaim for his dramatic role in 1998'sGods and Monsters, which was based on the life ofJames Whale (Ian McKellen), who directedFrankenstein. The film was written and directed byBill Condon, and follows the loss of creativity, ambiguous sexuality and the bond between a heterosexual gardener (played by Fraser) and a homosexual, tortured and ailing filmmaker (played by McKellen).[31]
Brendan Fraser at Canada's Walk of Fame in 2006
He achieved his biggest commercial success when he portrayed the lead adventurerRick O'Connell in the fantasy adventure filmThe Mummy (1999) and its sequelThe Mummy Returns (2001).[32]The Mummy established him as one of the biggest film stars of the 1990s.[33] In between these successes, he also starred in the box office bombsDudley Do-Right (1999) (which was based on another Jay Ward animated series) and the stop-motion/live-action fantasy comedyMonkeybone (2001); though he did have moderate success with the romantic comedyBlast from the Past (1999) and the fantasy comedyBedazzled (2000), a remake of the 1967 Britishfilm of the same name.[34] He lent his voice for the unreleased animated filmBig Bug Man, withMarlon Brando.[35]
In 2010, Fraser returned to Broadway in the production ofElling, but the play closed after one week, due to lackluster reviews.[41] After appearing in the critically pannedFurry Vengeance in 2010, Fraser moved from being represented byWilliam Morris Endeavor to theCreative Artists Agency.[42] In 2010, he starred inWhole Lotta Sole directed byTerry George and in 2011, he was set to playWilliam Tell inThe Legend of William Tell: 3D, directed byEric Brevig, with whom Fraser had also worked inJourney to the Center of the Earth.[43] Filming was delayed and late in 2011, Fraser sued the producer Todd Moyer for promised wages. Moyer later countersued for assault,[44] which Fraser dismissed as [Moyer's] desperate attempt to avoid paying his debt.[45] In 2013, he played anElvis Presley impersonator in the ensemble black comedyPawn Shop Chronicles.[46]
In 2016, Fraser replacedRay Liotta in the Bollywood thrillerLine of Descent.[47] Fraser later joined the recurring cast of the television drama seriesThe Affair during season 3 where he portrayed the misery-minded prison guard Gunther.[48] He portrayedGetty family fixer James Fletcher Chace in theFX anthology seriesTrust, which premiered on March 25, 2018.[7] Fraser portrayedClifford "Cliff" Steele / Robotman in theTitans TV series, with Jake Michaels physically portraying Robotman. He reprised the role in the spin-off seriesDoom Patrol, where he voices the character and appears as Steele in flashbacks; Riley Shanahan, replacing Jake Michaels inTitans, physically portrays Robotman.[8]
His comeback after a period of relative inactivity was dubbed "The Brennaissance" by fans.[49] In an interview onThe Graham Norton Show, Fraser acknowledged the portmanteau.[50]
2020–present: Career resurgence and critical acclaim
In September 2020, Fraser was cast as gangster Doug Jones inSteven Soderbergh'speriod crime filmNo Sudden Move, which was released in 2021.[51] In January 2021, Fraser was announced as the lead inDarren Aronofsky's filmThe Whale.[52][53][54] Aronofsky stated he had looked for the lead role in the movie for a decade, and decided to cast Fraser after seeing him in the trailer of the low-budget Brazilian filmJourney to the End of the Night. "A light bulb went off, and I was like, 'Oh, that guy can do it'", he said.[55]
Press conference forThe Whale in Venice, September 2022
The film premiered at theVenice International Film Festival in September 2022. Fraser spoke on preparing for the role withThe New York Times stating, "The Obesity Action Coalition gave me access to many people, so I could ask them their story on Zoom calls. I talked to maybe eight or 10 people — some bedridden, some perfectly mobile."[56] Fraser's performance was highly praised and the film received a six-minutestanding ovation at the festival[57] and subsequently won him an Oscarfor Best Actor.[58] He became the firstCanadian to win the best actor award.[9]
In August of the same year, Fraser was announced as part of the cast ofMartin Scorsese's filmKillers of the Flower Moon, as well as Max Barbakow's comedy filmBrothers.[59] In October 2021, Fraser was cast to portray the villainFirefly in the superhero filmBatgirl, set in theDC Extended Universe;[60] the release of the film was canceled in August 2022 after a change in Warner Bros. studio priorities.[61][62]
On July 4, 1993, shortly after he had arrived inLos Angeles, Fraser met his future wife, actress Afton Smith, at a barbecue atWinona Ryder's house.[67] Smith also appeared as a minor cast member in Fraser'sGeorge of the Jungle film. They married on September 27, 1998, and have three sons together:[68]Griffin Arthur Fraser (b. 2002), Holden Fletcher Fraser (b. 2004), and Leland Francis Fraser (b. 2006).[69] Holden and Leland are both fashion models signed withMarilyn Agency;[70][71] in a 2018 interview withGQ, Fraser said that Griffin is on theautism spectrum.[3]
In April 2007, Fraser and his wife sold their home inBeverly Hills, California for $3 million;[72] in December of that year, Fraser's publicist announced that the couple had decided to divorce.[73][74] Fraser was ordered to make monthlyalimony payments of $50,000 for ten years or until Smith remarried, whichever came first, and monthly child support payments of $25,000.[75] In early 2011, Fraser asked the court to reduce his alimony payments, asserting that he was unable to meet the annual obligation of $600,000; he did not contest the child support payments.[75] In late 2011, Smith accused Fraser of fraudulently failing to disclose some of his financial assets, including contracts for two films:Extraordinary Measures andFurry Vengeance.[75] In 2014, the court ruled against both Fraser's request for alimony reduction and Smith's fraud allegation.[75] Both parents received public praise for being actively engaged in their sons’ lives.[75] Smith has since turned from acting to book-writing and real estate.[76]
Fraser in New York City in December 2016
As of February 2018[update], Fraser lives inBedford,New York.[3] Since September 2022, Fraser has been in a relationship with makeup artist Jeanne Moore. The couple made their red-carpet debut at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, and Fraser expressed his gratitude to Moore during his acceptance speech for the Oscar for Best Actor at the95th Academy Awards.[77]
Fraser also speaksFrench[78] and serves on the board of directors forFilmAid International.[79] He is an accomplished amateur photographer[12] and has used severalinstant cameras in movies and on TV shows, most notably in his guest roles onScrubs. In his first appearance, he used aPolaroid pack film, and in his second appearance, he used aHolga with a Polaroid back, a Japanese-only model. The bookCollector's Guide to Instant Cameras includes a dedication to Fraser.[80] He is also an accomplished amateur archer.[3][81]
In 2018, Fraser stated publicly that the physical demands of the stunts and maneuvers he had performed in his action and comedy roles had required him to undergo several surgeries over a period of seven years, including a partialknee replacement, alaminectomy, andvocal-cord surgery.[82]
In 2018, Fraser said publicly that, at a luncheon in 2003, he had been sexually assaulted byPhilip Berk, the then-president of theHollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the nonprofit organization that votes for theGolden Globe Awards. Berk described Fraser's account as a "total fabrication", but in his 2014 memoir, he acknowledged having groped Fraser "in jest".[83][84][85] The stress he experienced from a succession of events, including his divorce, his health problems, the death of his mother, and making the alleged assault public, plunged Fraser into amajor depression that led to a break in his career.[3][4]
Several publications and social media users assumed that Fraser had beenblacklisted fromHollywood because of his accusation against Berk.[86][87] In the 2018GQ article in which Fraser first made his allegation public, he said, "The phone does stop ringing in your career, and you start asking yourself why. There's many reasons, but was [my allegation] one of them? I think it was."[3] However, in Fraser's 2019 appearance on the radio showSway in the Morning, he expressed a different view, saying, "I don't think the HFPA really wield that much power."[88] In 2022, Fraser toldGQ that if the HFPA nominated him for a Golden Globethat year for his most recent film,The Whale, he would "not participate" because of his "history" with the organization.[87][89][90]
Since 2018, Fraser has been a celebrity judge[91][92] on the Dancing Stars of Greenwich annual charity gala which raises money forAbilis, anonprofit organization that supports more than 800 individuals and their families with disabilities inFairfield County, Connecticut. His former wife, Afton Smith, also takes part in the dance competition.[93][92] In 2022, Smith and Fraser received the Heart of Abilis Award for their support and fundraising work for the charity.[94]
^Fraser, Brendan (August 28, 2001)."Fraser bedazzled by West-End".Evening Standard. RetrievedAugust 6, 2023....I sawThe Mousetrap when I was a little kid andOliver! andJesus Christ Superstar, all in the Seventies.
^Halpern, Lisa (February 10, 2005)."Fraser's Edge". Cornish College of the Arts. Archived fromthe original on December 31, 2007. RetrievedDecember 27, 2007.
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