Brendan Fraser: Why did the star of The Mummy disappear from the screens?

The first photo from Darren Aronofsky’s new film The Whale was unveiled last Wednesday, following its selection into the Official Competition at the 79th Venice Film Festival. Brendan Fraser It seems unrecognizable.

Samuel D. In the feature film adaptation of Hunter’s play, the actor weighs 270 kilograms and plays Charlie. The latter is hiding in his apartment and is desperately trying to contact his daughter. Soon he befriends a sharp-tongued and very unhappy teenager.

This film marks the return of the 53-year-old actor to the lead role. After the success of the saga The Mummy, the actor almost disappeared from the screens. I will explain the reason.

in 1999, Brendan Fraser Becomes a world star thanks to success The Mummy, which is 155 million at the international box office.

7 years in the hospital back and forth

The American actor continues with Endible, The Return of the Mummy then Collision. Willing to perform his own stunts, he doesn’t hesitate to pay with his own personality, nearly drowning on the set of The Mummy or seriously burning his hand in 2007’s Journey to the Center of the Earth.

“I surrounded myself with bandages and ice and hiking pads because they’re small and light and fit under my clothes. I was building an exoskeleton every day.” Then entrusts the actor, who also undergoes surgery, namely a laminectomy, a procedure that allows the removal of one or more faces of the spine.

Then there was a year when the hip was no longer holding and they had to do the operation again. One of his knees had to be partially replaced and his vocal cords came out.

For 7 years, the actor spent a lot of time in hospitals, paying for what he calls his wish.Too much power, to the point of being destructive“.

He also questions the pace of his work: “I felt like I was working endlessly, fixing things that I had already fixed, only to be destroyed again and again for everyone to enjoy.“.

But his health problems are not the only ones to blame. In an interview given to GQ magazine in 2018, the actor admits sexual violence.

A victim of sexual violence

In the summer of 2003, in failing health, Fraser traveled to a Beverly Hills hotel for a dinner hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an organization particularly concerned with the Golden Globes. On the way home, he gets a call from Philip Burke, the former president of the HFPA, who, according to Burke in his autobiography, “kicks the butt”. But Brendan Fraser’s version is completely different:

“His left hand came closer to me, held my butt and touched one finger to my anus. And he started movingAt that moment, Fraser felt sick. I felt like a little child. I had a lump in my throat. I felt like I was going to cry“.

The actress and her representatives have since demanded an apology from Burke, who has denied Fraser’s version. However, the former president of the HFPA wrote a letter to the comedian: “If I did anything to upset Mr. Fraser, it was unintentional and I apologize.“.

Liberation is possible thanks to the #MeToo movement

Brendan Fraser explains that he found the strength to speak out thanks to the emergence of the #MeToo movement: “I know Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino, I worked with them. I haven’t spoken to them in years, but they are my friends. I followed their wonderful movement and these people were able to say what I did not have the courage to say“.

After talking about him and telling his story, Fraser still says he’s “terrified.” He comments: “Do I feel like I needed to talk about it? absolutely. How many times have I wanted to do this? absolutely. did i give up absolutely.“

After this sexual assault, Brendan Fraser falls into a long depression, accentuated by Joe Dante on the set of Looney Tunes.

In this comedy, the actor responds to the characters of the cartoon and plays the role of a double for Brendan Fraser. He even crosses paths with the real Brendan Fraser at the end of the film. In this scene, the actor splits the screen and hits his head. “I think at the time I wanted to beat myself up more than anyone else would. “he reveals.

Having become a shadow of himself, Brendan Fraser can no longer play the role. “The phone stopped ringing and I began to wonder why. There are many reasons for this, but is he one of them? I think so.”

The actor explains that his depression is also related to work. “I am not a reserved person, but I felt that I could no longer be a part of this world of cinema. I no longer felt in my place“.

In 2010, he starred alongside Harrison Ford in “Extraordinary Measures” before finally turning his back on Hollywood. The commercial failure of The Mummy 3 didn’t help matters, and Brendan Fraser He is replaced by Dwayne Johnson in the sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth.

A new era

The actor is only doing independent films until he returns to the TV series Trust. Fraser is much better and seems to be enjoying acting again. He then played the superhero Robotman alias Clifford Steele in the Doom Patrol series.

The actor says:You may sometimes feel like you’re not good enough, that you’re a failure. It is an attempt. It’s a new time, a new era, and positive changes will come from sexual abuse testimonies. I am optimistic and hopeful“.

2023 will mark a strong comeback for the actor as he will be the headliner Ვshap from Darren Aronofsky from February 23 and will appear in the casting of Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon, in which he plays a lawyer. Brendan Fraser will also play one of Batman’s enemies, Firefly, in HBO’s Batgirl.