How Did Brendan Fraser Ruin His Career? The Real Reason He Disappeared And Stop Acting

Everyone remembers Brendan Fraser from his days in George of the Jungle and The Mummy in the 1990s.

Nobody would compare him to the new stars in the film industry. Everyone liked him from his witty acting and character, which was so scintillating. Everyone was glued to the screens because of the enigmatic Brendan Fraser. 

Since his breakthrough with Condor, the talented actor has been off the screens for a while. 

Many fans are wondering why. We’ve gathered this information about him. For those who don’t know about him, find out more about him below!

Brendan James Fraser was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on December 3, 1968. 

He was born to Canadian parents Carol Mary (Genereux), a sales counselor, and Peter Fraser, a journalist, and travel executive. 

His ancestry includes Scottish, Irish, German, and French Canadian. 

Four years after his birth, Fraser’s family moved to Evanston, Illinois. 

He appeared in plays while in high school and at Northwestern University, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

After graduating from Northwestern in 1990 with a degree in theater arts, he moved to New York City, where he supported himself as a busboy and piano player before pursuing an acting career.

Fraser’s Challenges

One of the most underrated actors in Hollywood today, Brendan started his career off in a series of supporting roles in movies like Encino Man, School Ties, Airheads, and The Scout. He then took a brief hiatus from acting to attend the Lawrenceville School, an exclusive boarding school outside of Princeton, NJ. 

He returned to the screen in 1992 with a role in This Boy’s Life, which was nominated for an Oscar.

The following year, Fraser’s arrival as a leading man when he starred opposite Alicia Silverstone in the hit comedy Clueless. 

The movie brought him international fame, as he followed it up with several high-profile roles: George of the Jungle (1997), Gods and Monsters (1998), Bedazzled (2000), and Monkeybone (2001).

Fraser won critical raves for his performance as real-life reporter Michael Finkel in “The Insider” and had another big hit with 2003’s “The Mummy Returns”.

He also made headlines when he suffered major injuries while filming a stunt for the movie “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” His injuries were so bad that filming had to be shut down for several weeks until he recovered.

Career

He began his career with supporting roles in films like Airheads, School Ties, and I Love You to Death. 

He later found box-office success with leading roles in major Hollywood films such as Bedazzled (2000), The Mummy (1999), and its sequel The Mummy Returns (2001). In 2005, he starred in Disney’s remake of The Fog.

Breakthrough

His breakthrough came when he starred in Michael Bay’s 1994 film, The Mask, a commercial success and critical hit that found Fraser portraying the superhero’s titular character and launching him into stardom.

While the film was commercially successful, it received mixed reviews from critics. 

The same year saw the release of the comedy Dumb and Dumber, which proved to be an even greater success than The Mask. 

Brendan Fraser at Canada’s Walk of Fame induction.

In 1996, he appeared in George of the Jungle, and in 1997 he played one of the main characters in Airheads.

Fraser continued to appear in family-friendly films throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, with his final big-screen appearance being 2003’s Looney Tunes: Back In Action.

His film performances have shown signs of deterioration in recent years, such as in 2008’s Furry Vengeance and 2010’s Furry 3D: A Bunny Odyssey. However, he has continued training and improved himself physically for roles (the latter film is an example as Fraser took boxing lessons).

How Did Brendan Fraser Ruin His Career

In 2018, Brendan Fraser spoke out about his management, which led to his blacklisting from Hollywood. 

Apparently, Fraser was sexually assaulted by the former president of Hollywood. 

Eventually, this led him into depression, and he couldn’t work with them anymore. 

In an interview, Fraser claimed, “His left-hand reaches around grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around,” the actor said. “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.”

His tribulations started in 2003 when he was at the peak of his career. During a 2018 interview, the star stated how he had been sexually molested by Phillip Berk, the then President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), during a luncheon.

He rejected his advances but was surprised and embarrassed by the ordeal, he did not want to press charges against the President of the HFPA.

After the ordeal, Fraser felt Berk was pulling strings to suppress his career and make his life difficult in Hollywood. Berk denied the statements. 

Another issue the actor faced during the time was various surgeries that made him constantly visit the hospital within a seven-year duration.

This was majorly attributed to the stunt work he engaged in when he acted as Rick O’ Connell in The Mummy Returns. It resulted in him getting knee and vocal cord surgery and a laminectomy.

The recovery period inhibited his availability and the acts he could safely do. Due to the emotional distress of being intentionally left out by the acting community and the surgery, the star became depressed.

The death of his mom further aggravated his situation, and this made him feel abandoned and abused. He decided to give acting life a break and concentrate on projects that do not involve entertainment. 

Reviving his Career

After many years of acting in more minor roles, there came a chance when he acted in Doom Patrol as Cliff “Robotman” Steele.

Despite the part being challenging since he acted as Cliff Steele in flashbacks before his accident, he credited Riley Shanahan with doing most of the heavy lifting. He described him as a “wonderful comedic performer with fantastic timing.” Since then, his star has continued rising, and his name has been included in various major upcoming projects together with prominent actors. Interestingly, he was stated to act as W.S. Hamilton in the forthcoming movie, Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Jesse Plemons.