Some thirty years ago, Brendan Fraser was one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. His dashing looks were complimented by his gentle and easy going personality, and it was easy to fall in love with the actor both on and off the screen. Appearing in instant classics throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, such as The Mummy and George of the Jungle, Brendan Fraser was, for many, a pivotal figure during their childhood and adolescence. However, in the years which followed, the actor seemed to have fallen off the map. As more people chimed in online with their appreciation of Fraser, the question soon arose: Whatever happened to him?
The long answer to that question is complicated but in short: life happened. Upon rediscovering the actor, the internet soon realized that he had put on some pounds and was balding but yet, he still had that boyish charm about him, even late into adulthood. Fraser had continued acting in a plethora of different movies and TV shows and yet, his career was a far cry from what it was twenty years ago. Upon learning about the status of their favorite childhood actor, the Internet was quick to give him the viral treatment. Brendan Fraser fans banded together on platforms such as Twitter and TikTok, making the actor go viral on both platforms. Upon discovering the Internet’s unwavering support at a virtual meet and greet, Fraser became emotional, and began to choke up. Trying to disguise his emotions by sipping from a glass of water, the George of the Jungle actor tipped his hat and said: “Shucks, ma’am.”
One of the biggest revelations about what happened to Fraser’s career came back in 2018, when Fraser alleged that HFPA ex-president, Philip Berk, assaulted him at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2003. “I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry,” Fraser stated. While the actor went home to tell his wife, he decided not to go public with the incident for many years, fearing that the incident would become ‘part of (his) narrative.’ Now, in the post #MeToo era, Fraser is able to openly discuss the incident, as well as how it negatively affected his career. The actor explained that the assault made him retreat from public life, and that he questioned whether or not the HFPA blacklisted him, seeing as he was rarely invited back to the Golden Globes, which is hosted by the organization. “The phone does stop ringing in your career, and you start asking yourself why,” he explained. “There’s many reasons, but was this one of them? I think it was.” However, now in 2021, due to his newfound Internet stardom, Fraser’s career has been given a new breath of life. He currently is working on several big name movies, including a Martin Scorcese film called Killers of the Flower Moon and Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. He is now working with A-list actors again, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Peter Dinklage— to name but a few. And while the Internet patiently waits for these films to be released we are all asking ourselves: Could Brendan Fraser finally win his Oscar? An entire generation of movie lovers is hoping so.
