Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser
Fraser in 2022
Born
Brendan James Fraser

(1968-12-03) December 3, 1968 (age 55)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Years active1991–present
SpouseAfton Smith (1998–2008)
Websitehttp://www.brendanfraser.com

Brendan James Fraser[1] (born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor.[2][3] He has acted in many movies, such as The Mummy movies, as well as The Quiet American, Crash, George of the Jungle and Journey to the Center of the Earth. His role in the 2022 movie The Whale (2022) as an overweight gay father won him the Critics' Choice Movie Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Academy Award for Best Actor and earned him nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award.[4]

Early life

Fraser was born on December 3, 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana,[1] and is the son of Canadian parents Carol and Peter Fraser who used to work for the Canadian government in Indiana. His parents are Czech, English, French Canadian, German, Irish and Scottish ancestry.[2][5][6] He has three older brothers: Kevin, Regan, and Sean.

His family moved often when he was a child and lived in Eureka, California, Seattle, Ottawa, the Netherlands and in Switzerland. When he was a boy, Fraser he was at the well known Canadian school for boys,[7] called Upper Canada College, in Toronto. When he was on vacation in London, Fraser went to see his first show in the West End. He graduated from Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts in 1990.[5][8]

He started acting at a small acting college in New York. He first planned on going to graduate school in Texas but he made the decision to stay in Hollywood and work in movies.

Career

Fraser's first job acting in a movie was a small part in America's Most Wanted in 1988 where he acted as the friend to Rodney Mark Peterson, who was a person who was killed. He has since acted in over 30 movies. He had his first job as the main actor in Encino Man in (1992). That same year he acted with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Chris O'Donnell in School Ties in (1992). In 1994, he acted with Adam Sandler in the comedy Airheads. He then acted in smaller parts with Viggo Mortensen and Ashley Judd in Philip Ridley's The Passion of Darkly Noon in (1995), and Jennifer Beals in The Twilight of the Golds in (1997). In 1997, he became more famous because of the movie George of the Jungle (1997). He went on to act in more comedy movies like Blast from the Past in (1999), Bedazzled in (2000) and Monkeybone in (2001).

His best success was with the movie (which also had Rachel Weisz as an actor) called The Mummy in (1999) and its sequel The Mummy Returns (2001), both of which were very successful.

In 2003, he played the main character in Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

In 2004, he acted in the Academy Award winning movie Crash. He has also acted in the television shows Scrubs, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons.

In March 2006, he was made a member of Canada's Walk of Fame,[2] and was the first American-born actor to have this happen. He does not have his name put on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. After not acting in one of the movies for six years, Fraser has now acted again in a new "The Mummy" movie called The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The movie began in Montreal on July 27, 2007 and the movie also had Jet Li acting as Emperor Han. The last Mummy movie made over $100 million in the USA and over $400 million worldwide.

Fraser in 2016

Fraser also acted as "Brick" in the West End show of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in September, 2001, directed by Anthony Page. Other actors in it were Ned Beatty, Frances O'Connor, and Gemma Jones. The show ended on January 12, 2002, with people saying good things about it.[9]

In 2018, he played Fletcher Chase in the television series Trust.

In September 2020, Fraser was cast as gangster Doug Jones in Steven Soderbergh's period crime movie No Sudden Move, which was released in 2021.[10]

In January 2021, Fraser was announced as the lead in Darren Aronofsky's movie The Whale.[11][12][13] Fraser's role was highly praised and the movie received a six-minute standing ovation at the festival.[14] The role won him an Oscar for Best Actor.[15] He became the first Canadian to win the best actor award.[16]

Fraser was cast to play the villain Firefly in the cancelled superhero movie Batgirl, which would have been set in the DC Extended Universe.

Personal life

Fraser met actress Afton Smith at a barbecue at Winona Ryder's house on July 4, 1993, after he came to Los Angeles.[5] Fraser married Smith on September 27, 1998, and they have three sons: Griffin Arthur Fraser[1] (born September 17, 2002), Holden Fletcher Fraser (born August 16, 2004) and Leland Francis Fraser (born May 2, 2006). All of their children were born in Los Angeles. On December 27, 2007, Fraser's publicist (the person who speaks to the press about Fraser) said that the couple had made the decision to divorce.[17][18]

Brendan Fraser can speak French like a person who was born there.[19] Fraser also serves on the Board of Directors for FilmAid International.[20]

Fraser has been in a relationship with makeup artist Jeanne Moore since September 2022.[21]

As of February 2018, Fraser lives in Bedford, New York.[22]

Fraser is also a good photographer.[2] He has used more than one Polaroid in movies and on TV shows, most known is in his time acting on Scrubs.

In 2018, Fraser said that he had been sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the nonprofit organization that votes for the Golden Globe Awards in 2003.[23][24][25] Many people saw that as a result of the allegation, Fraser was blacklisted from Hollywood.[26][27]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Brendan Fraser's Looney Adventure". CBS. November 13, 2003. Archived from the original on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "2006 Inductees - Brendan Fraser". Canada's Walk of Fame. 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  3. ↑ Beale, Lewis (November 1, 1998). "In The Know Brendan Up To Buff In 'Gods And Monsters'". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  4. ↑ "Brendan Fraser tearfully accepts Critics Choice best actor award: 'I was in the wilderness'". USA Today. January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lynch, Lorrie (October 26, 2003), In tune with himself, USA Weekend, archived from the original on 2010-01-10, retrieved 2007-12-27
  6. ↑ "Brendan Fraser Biography (1968-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  7. ↑ Diamond, Jamie (June 21, 1992), "UP AND COMING: Brendan Fraser; A Man Schooled for Success", New York Times, retrieved 2008-01-08
  8. ↑ Halpern, Lisa (February 10, 2005), Fraser's Edge, Cornish College of the Arts, archived from the original on 2007-12-31, retrieved 2007-12-27
  9. ↑ "Albemarle - Archive". Albemarle-london.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  10. ↑ Brody, Richard (July 1, 2021). "'No Sudden Move' Reviewed: Steven Soderbergh's New Crime Drama Is a Brisk Nostalgia Trip". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  11. ↑ Fernández, Alexia (January 11, 2021). "Brendan Fraser to Play a 600 lb. Reclusive Man in Darren Aronofsky's Movie Adaptation of The Whale". People. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  12. ↑ Barber, Nicholas (September 4, 2022). "The Whale review: 'Brendan Fraser deserves an Oscar'". BBC News. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  13. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (February 28, 2023). "Brendan Fraser Signs With CAA". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  14. ↑ Setoodeh, Ramin; Sharf, Zack; Keslassy, Elsa (September 4, 2022). "Brendan Fraser Breaks Down in Tears as 'The Whale' Gets Huge 6-Minute Standing Ovation in Venice". Variety. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Brendan Fraser wins best actor Oscar for 'The Whale'". Reuters. March 12, 2023. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  16. ↑ Chong, Joshua (March 13, 2023). "Who is Brendan Fraser, the first Canadian to win the Oscar for Best Actor?". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  17. ↑ Georgia Waters (28 December 2007). "Marriage over for Penn". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  18. ↑ "Mummy Star Brendan Fraser, Wife Split After Nine Years". US Magazine. December 27, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  19. ↑ "BBC - Films - Brendan Fraser". BBC. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  20. ↑ "filmaid.org Newsletter". FilmAid International. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  21. ↑ LaCroix, Emy (March 13, 2023). "Who Is Brendan Fraser's Girlfriend? All About Jeanne Moore". People Magazine. New York City: Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  22. ↑ Baron, Zach (February 22, 2018). "What Ever Happened To Brendan Fraser?". GQ. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Golden Globes Voter Philip Berk, Previously Accused of Groping Brendan Fraser, Expelled by HFPA for Racist Email". People. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Brendan Fraser Says Former HFPA President Sexually Assaulted Him and Derailed His Career". People. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  25. ↑ Carroll, E. Jean (July 2, 2019). What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-250-21544-4. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ Spence, Niamh (July 27, 2022). "The Reason Why Brendan Fraser Was 'Blacklisted' From Hollywood For Years". LAD Bible. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Brendan Fraser Won't Attend Golden Globes After Sexual Assault Allegations Against Former HFPA President". People. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.

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