Brendan Fraser’s Triumphant Comeback: How Playing a 600-Pound Gay Man in ‘The Whale’ Resurrected His Career

After facing backlash for wearing a fat suit, celebrities such as Chris Sullivan and Sarah Paulson opened up about taking on their respective roles.

Brendan Fraser is apologizing for causing a major traffic disaster in San Francisco while filming "George of the Jungle" 25 years ago. Fraser, who starred in the 1997 film, recalled filming a scene along the Bay Bridge that caused chaos.  He spoke at the Mill Valley Film Festival in California on Thursday and explained that although a dummy was used for the scene, drivers on the bridge believed a real person was in despair. "Disney put a mannequin hanging by a parachute from the uprights.

Clayton Davis Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are splitting up, at least in terms of their Oscar campaign. “She Said,” which premiered at the New York Film Festival, and then one day later at the Middleburg Film Festival in Virginia, will be campaigned by Universal Pictures in the highly competitive best actress category for Kazan while Mulligan will seek attention in the wide-open supporting actress race.  Directed by Maria Schrader, “She Said” tells the story of New York Times reporters Megan Twohey (Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Kazan), who helped launched the #MeToo movement by exposing the silence surrounding sexual assault in Hollywood, and particularly Harvey Weinstein. 

experiencing a career renaissance thanks to Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, which is allowing both fans (and the actor himself) to go back and consider those films he made back when he was a star the first time around. There’s been a lot of talk about Fraser’s time with The Mummy franchise, but the actor took a recent opportunity in the San Francisco bay area to apologize for something that went wrong while filming George of the Jungle, and in doing so made a brand new error. Fraser recently attended the Mill Valley Film Festival (via SFGate) where The Whale was set to be screened.

Not a fan. Brendan Fraser, who starred in the original Mummy franchise, has a theory why Tom Cruise’s film remake wasn’t as successful.

Elizabeth Hurley and Brendan Fraser reunite at a special screening of The Whale at The Ham Yard Hotel on Monday (October 10) in London, England.

Clayton Davis Reputations go a long way in Hollywood, and when you’re seeking Oscar attention, a good one provides a significant edge against the competition. While more than a few contenders in this year’s mix have had previous run-ins with colleagues and journalists, those without that baggage have social media, and the industry, rooting for them. At the top of the list is Brendan Fraser, one of the best comeback stories in years. In Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” (Aronofsky and Fraser are both on the cover of this week’s New York issue of Variety) where he plays a 600-pound man looking to reconnect with his daughter, he delivers an astounding performance. The adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s play may face an uphill battle in other major categories, based on reactions so far. However, the star of “The Mummy” (1999) and “Encino Man” (1992) has been able to rise above any criticism, especially after Variety posted a viral video of him getting emotional during the film’s standing ovation at Venice.

told Variety. As part of Fraser’s cover story, “Mummy” director Stephen Sommers told the mag the reasons he cast the actor in the first place. “He could throw a punch and take a punch and he had a great sense of humor,” Sommers said.

When you think about Brendan Fraser’s greatest film moments, almost all of them will be from some point in the ‘90s. That was just prime Fraser-ness.

Brendan Fraser was one of the biggest action stars of the ’90s and early ’00s, but he later receded from the public eye — leaving fans eagerly awaiting his comeback.

Brendan Fraser became emotional as he received a massive standing ovation for his new film The Whale. The acclaimed actor, 53, was a massive star in the 90s and early 2000s, having appeared in some of the biggest action films of the decade. However he took a long break from acting after suffering multiple injuries, going through a divorce and battling with depression, as well as speaking out about an alleged sexual assault.

Brendan Fraser famously portrayed Rick O’Connell in the three original The Mummy films, which were released in theaters beginning in 1999.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Both Brendan Fraser and Darren Aronofsky have had some high-profile setbacks when it comes to the comic book genre. The two men, who are collaborating on the acclaimed indie drama “The Whale,” opened up about their struggles during recent interviews with Variety. Fraser spent months in Glasgow, Scotland portraying Firefly, a pyromaniac who faces off against Leslie Grace’s costumed heroine in “Batgirl.” That film was supposed to debut on HBO Max, but it was scrapped, a victim of the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia, the streaming service’s parent company. “It’s tragic,” Fraser told Variety as part of a cover story on “The Whale.” “It doesn’t engender trust among filmmakers and the studio. Leslie Grace was fantastic. She’s a dynamo, just a spot-on performer. Everything that we shot was real and exciting and just the antithesis of doing a straightforward digital all green screen thing. They ran firetrucks around downtown Glasgow at 3 in the morning and they had flamethrowers. It was a big-budget movie, but one that was just stripped down to the essentials.”   

Brent Lang Executive Editor Brendan Fraser landed on the A-list thanks to his roll as the rollicking adventurer Rick O’Connell in “The Mummy” and its two sequels. And he hasn’t returned to the land of the undead since 2008’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” but Fraser says he’s open to revisiting the franchise that made him a megastar. “I don’t know how it would work,” he admits. “But I’d be open to it if someone came up with the right conceit.” Fraser shared his thoughts on the film series as part of a Variety cover story on the making of “The Whale,” a drama about an obese man trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. That film has landed him in the thick of the Oscar race.

Brendan Fraser received yet another standing ovation for his performance in "The Whale." Fraser, 53, was moved to tears during his second standing ovation – this time at the London Film Festival.The film was shown to an audience Tuesday night and the actor reportedly received a five-minute standing ovation. The reaction to the film at the London Film Festival follows his first standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival in early September.The audience bestowed a six-minute standing ovation to the "Crash" star.