Brenda Fraser Biography
Brenda Fraser is a Canadian-American actor best known for With Honors (1994), George of the Jungle (1997), The Mummy trilogy (1999–2008), Gods and Monsters (1998), The Quiet American (2002), Crash (2004), Bedazzled (2000), and Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008). He rose to fame after playing in the comedy Encino Man and the drama School Ties, both in 1992.
Brenda Fraser Career
Fraser’s interest in acting began when he saw Oliver!, a West End professional theater production, while on vacation in London, England, in the 1970s. He made his screen debut in Dogfight in 1991, playing a brief part as a Seaman en route to Vietnam. He starred as a frozen prehistoric caveman who thaws out in the present in the 1992 comedy Encino Man, costarring Sean Astin and Pauly Shore. It was his first major motion picture role. The movie has a cult following and was a moderate box-office hit. In the same year, he portrayed a Jewish professional quarterback facing pervasive anti-Semitism in a private prep school setting in the film School Ties. It costarred emerging stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Chris O’Donnell.
Between 1994 and 1996, he starred in various box office failures such as With Honors (1994) with Joe Pesci, Airheads (1994) with Steve Buscemi & Adam Sandler, The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995), Mrs. Winterbourne (1996) and The Twilight of the Golds (1997). In 1995, he starred in a brief role in the movie Now and Then. He reprised his role as Encino Man for brief cameos in the Pauly Shore flicks Son in Law (1993) and In the Army Now (1994).
The 1997 comedy feature George of the Jungle, which was based on the Jay Ward-created animated series of the same name, gave him his first significant box office triumph. His dramatic performance in the 1998 film Gods and Monsters, which was based on the life of James Whale (Ian McKellen), the director of Frankenstein, won him praise from critics. Bill Condon wrote and directed the movie, which centers on the relationship between a heterosexual gardener (played by Fraser) and a gay, sick, and tormented filmmaker (played by McKellen), as well as the loss of creativity and ambiguous sexuality.
In the fantasy adventure films The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001), he played the lead adventurer Rick O’Connell, which led to his greatest commercial success. Additionally, he starred in the box office bombs Dudley Do-Right (1999) (which was based on another Jay Ward animated series) and the stop-motion/live-action fantasy comedy Monkeybone (2001). However he did have moderate success with the romantic comedy Blast from the Past (1999) and the fantasy comedy Bedazzled (2000), a remake of the 1967 British film of the same name. Alongside Marlon Brando, he provided the voice of Big Bug Man in the unreleased animated picture.
In September 2001, Anthony Page directed Fraser in the lead role of “Brick” in the West End version of Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Ned Beatty, Frances O’Connor, and Gemma Jones were among the cast members. By the time the program concluded on January 12, 2002, Fraser had received numerous positive reviews. He co-starred with Michael Caine in the critically acclaimed political drama The Quiet American in 2002. He played the human lead, D.J. Drake, in the live-action/animated picture Looney Tunes: Back in Action the same year. He also provided the voice of the Tasmanian Devil. He made an ensemble cast appearance in the Academy Award–winning movie Crash in 2004.
In addition, he has appeared as a guest on Scrubs, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons. Being the first actor of American descent to be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame, he did so in March of 2006. He does not, however, have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as of 2022. Fraser reappeared in the franchise for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the second sequel to The Mummy, which was released in August 2008, following a six-year break.
On July 27, 2007, filming in Montreal began. Jet Li acted in the movie as Emperor Han. In the same year, he starred in the fantasy film Inkheart (which he selected for the main role by novelist Cornelia Funke) and the 3D film adaptation of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. Fraser made a comeback to Broadway in 2010 with a production of Elling; however, the play’s one-week run ended in cancellation due to unimpressive reviews. Fraser left William Morris Endeavor to join the Creative Artists Agency following his appearance in the critically acclaimed Furry Vengeance in 2010. He starred in Terry George’s Whole Lotta Sole in 2010 and was scheduled to play William Tell in Eric Brevig’s The Legend of William Tell: 3D in 2011. Fraser has previously collaborated with Brevig on Journey to the Center of the Earth. After postponing the shoot, Fraser filed a lawsuit against producer Todd Moyer for unpaid compensation in late 2011.
Fraser disregarded Moyer’s eventual countersue for assault as his last-ditch effort to evade paying his debt. In the group black comedy Pawn Shop Chronicles in 2013, he performed as an Elvis Presley impersonator. Fraser took Ray Liotta’s position in the 2016 Bollywood thriller Line of Descent. Later, in season three of the television drama series The Affair, Fraser became a regular cast member and played the miserable jail guard Gunther. In the March 25, 2018, debut of the FX anthology series Trust, he played Getty family fixer James Fletcher Chace. In the Titans television series, Fraser played Clifford “Cliff” Steele, also known as Robotman; Jake Michaels played the character in real life.
Riley Shanahan, who played Robotman in Titans in lieu of Jake Michaels, plays the character physically. He returned to the role in the spin-off series Doom Patrol, where he voices the character and makes flashback appearances as Steele. Due to his run of appearances, his abrupt return was dubbed the “Brenaissance” by numerous newspapers.
Fraser was chosen in September 2020 to play gangster Doug Jones in the 2021 release of Steven Soderbergh’s historical crime drama No Sudden Move. Fraser was revealed as the main character in Darren Aronofsky’s film The Whale in January 2021. In September 2022, the movie made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. Fraser won an Oscar for Best Actor as a result of the picture receiving a six-minute standing ovation at the festival and receiving strong plaudits for his performance. He became the first-ever winner of the Best Actor Oscar from Canada.
Fraser was confirmed to be in Max Barbakow’s comedy Brothers and Martin Scorsese’s upcoming picture Killers of the Flower Moon in August of that same year. He was chosen to play the antagonist Firefly in the DC Extended Universe superhero movie Batgirl, which was set to come out in October 2021. However, it was postponed until August 2022 due to a shift in Warner Bros. company priorities. Fraser provided the voice of Robert J. Sawyer’s audiodrama The Downloaded, which was made available only on Audible in the fall of 2023. Additionally, Fraser narrated a story as a guest at Walt Disney World’s Candlelight Processional in December 2023.
Brenda Fraser Age
Fraser was born on December 3, 1968, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. He is 55 years old as of 2023 and he celebrates his birthday on the 3rd of December every year.
Brenda Fraser Height and Weight
Fraser stands at a height of 6 feet 3 ½ inches (1.91 meters) and weighs 95 kg (209 lbs).
Brenda Fraser Family
Fraser was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Canadian parents Peter Fraser and Carol Mary Fraser Généreux. Fraser’s family moved often during his childhood, living in Eureka, California; Seattle, Washington; Ottawa, Ontario; the Netherlands; and Switzerland. His father was a former journalist who served as a Canadian foreign service officer for the Government Office of Tourism. His mother was a sales counselor. The only other Canadian to win a gold medal at the Olympic Trap during the Summer Olympics in 1952 was his maternal uncle, George Genereux. Kevin, Regan, and Sean are the three older brothers of Fraser. Their ancestors are German, Czech, Irish, Scottish, and French-Canadian. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
Brenda Fraser Wife and Children
Fraser first met actress Afton Smith on July 4, 1993, during a cookout at Winona Ryder’s house, shortly after moving to Los Angeles. With three sons, they were joined in marriage on September 27, 1998. Fraser disclosed his oldest son’s autism spectrum condition in a 2018 interview with GQ. Fraser’s publicist declared in December 2007 that the pair had chosen to file for divorce. This came after their Beverly Hills, California home sold in April 2007 for $3 million. Fraser was ordered to pay $25,000 per month in child support as well as $50,000 per month in alimony for ten years, or until Smith remarries, whichever came first.
Fraser did not dispute the child support payments, but in early 2011, he filed a petition with the courts asking for a decrease in his alimony payments, claiming he could not afford the $600,000 yearly commitment. Smith accused Fraser of fraud at the end of 2011 for concealing his financial assets and not revealing the film contracts for Furry Vengeance and Extraordinary Measures. In 2014, the court denied both Fraser’s plea for alimony to be reduced and Smith’s claim that he had committed fraud. It was acknowledged that both parents took an active role in their sons’ lives.
Since September 2022, Fraser has been romantically involved with makeup artist Jeanne Moore. The pair debuted together on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. Fraser expressed his gratitude to Moore in his 95th Academy Awards victory speech for Best Actor. Fraser has been residing in Bedford, New York, since February 2018.
Brenda Fraser Salary
Fraser was considered one of the world’s highest-paid actors, earning between $10 and $15 million for every movie role.
Brenda Fraser Net Worth
Fraser has an estimated net worth of $20 million which he has earned through his career as an actor.
What Disease Does Brendan Fraser Have?
It is known that Fraser sustained numerous injuries while filming three different films. He has not disclosed information about whether or not he is suffering from any illness. However, an update of this information will be made when available.
Brendan Fraser The Whale
Fraser portrays Charlie in the 2022 drama film, The Whale. The film revolves around an English professor, Charlie, a loner who suffers from extreme obesity. He teaches college students online English writing courses but never turns on his webcam out of self-loathing. Charlie is shown being helped by Liz, his nurse and lone friend, who paradoxically encourages him to go to a hospital for treatment for congestive heart failure despite Charlie’s insistence that he cannot afford it. Thomas, a New Life Church missionary who is interested in saving Charlie, also pays him a visit. Almost every night, he places an order for pizza with delivery man Dan. They never speak to one other in person; instead, Dan leaves the pizza on his porch and retrieves the cash payment from the mailbox.
Charlie wants to get back in touch with Ellie, his teenage daughter he left behind when he left his wife Mary to be with his lover Alan eight years ago. Ellie is offered the full $120,000 in his bank account if she spends time with him without her mother knowing after he discloses that he has been saving money for years. Ellie consents as long as he does all of her schoolwork for her; however, he also asks that she write in the notebook he hands her.
Liz brings Charlie a wheelchair so he may stay mobile while his health deteriorates. Liz is displeased with Thomas’s visits and chastises him. She discloses that Alan was her brother and that she is the adoptive daughter of the chief pastor of New Life. His suicide was motivated by his religious guilt, which left a bereaved Charlie unable to stop binge eating. Thomas continues to feel that helping Charlie is his mission, despite Liz’s disapproval. Charlie is knocked out one day when Ellie mixes crushed Ambien into his breakfast. When Thomas gets there, they both smoke some marijuana. It is there when he admits to robbing his youth group of money and leaving his house since he isn’t happy. Ellie captures their talk in secret.
Liz brings Mary to visit out of concern. Liz is incensed at being misled about Charlie’s reasons for forgoing medical care, and she storms out when she finds out how much he has saved for Ellie. Charlie’s choice to leave his family for Alan causes friction with Mary. Charlie acknowledges that he is hoping Ellie will show that he lived “one thing right.” Dan sees Charlie for the first time later that evening while delivering pizza, and he discreetly leaves in shock. Charlie thus has a major episode of binge eating and emails his pupils, using a lot of profanity, begging them to ignore the classwork and to just write back “something honest”.
After Ellie sends his confession to his former youth group and family, who have forgiven him and begged him to come back, Thomas pays Charlie one final visit to let him know that he is returning home. When he tries to preach to Charlie and says that Alan’s death was caused by his sexual orientation, Charlie chastises him. Charlie examines some of his students’ submissions during his subsequent session and informs them that he is being fired as a result of the email he wrote. When he turns on his webcam for the first time in return for their candor, the pupils’ emotions aren’t entirely positive. After coolly declaring that academics are irrelevant and that what matters are the sincere writings of his students, Charlie ends class quickly by hurling his laptop against the refrigerator, destroying it.
Returning, Liz gives Charlie consolation as his condition swiftly deteriorates. Charlie has replaced the essay he agreed to rewrite for Ellie with an essay she did in the eighth grade on Moby-Dick, which he believes to be the most honest essay he has ever read. Ellie arrives to angrily confront him over the essay. As he makes one more attempt at reconciliation, Ellie initially chastises him; nevertheless, at Charlie’s request, she reads the paper aloud. Charlie gets up and approaches her on his own; on their previous visit, he had attempted to do so but had been unsuccessful. They exchange a smile as she finishes reading, and Charlie starts to float after being surrounded by a brilliant white light.
Brendan Fraser The Mummy
Fraser portrayed Rick O’Connell in the 1999 action epic The Mummy, an adventurous man with a bold spirit determined to solve Egypt’s mysteries. One of three films, The Mummy was followed by The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). One of Fraser’s best-known films, it co-stars Rachel Weisz. Fans love the original movie so much that Fraser shocked them in 2023 by showing up as Rick at a London viewing.
Brenda Fraser George of the Jungle
Fraser had his first major box office success with the 1997 comedy film George of the Jungle. The film was based on the animated series of the same title created by Jay Ward. It revolves around the wild and innocent George in this bright comedy, a man who was raised by apes in the forest. This movie, which is based on the 1967 animated series George of the Forest, follows George as he travels from the forest to San Francisco and demonstrates his reactions to life in the contemporary world. Even though it’s a frivolous and lighthearted movie, Fraser gives one of his most memorable performances to date. Thomas Haden Church and Leslie Mann co-star in the movie.
The plot of the movie follows a San Francisco heiress Ursula Stanhope, who is traveling through Burundi with her local guide Kwame, and three porters when she runs into her spoiled fiancée Lyle van de Groot. Lyle wants to take Ursula home and has hired two hunters, Max and Thor, to find her. Kwame informs the group about the legend of the “White Ape,” a supernatural monkey that commands the jungle from Ape Mountain. Lyle goes into the forest with Ursula to discover the White Ape since she won’t go home until she sees it the next day. A lion attacks the two, and Lyle trips and falls while attempting to run away. George, the King of the Jungle, comes to Ursula’s rescue.
San Francisco heiress Ursula Stanhope is traveling through Burundi with her local guide Kwame and three porters when she runs into her spoiled fiancée Lyle van de Groot. Lyle wants to take Ursula home and has hired two hunters, Max and Thor, to find her. Kwame informs the group about the legend of the “White Ape,” a supernatural monkey that commands the jungle from Ape Mountain. Lyle goes into the forest with Ursula to discover the White Ape since she won’t go home until she sees it the next day. A lion attacks the two, and Lyle trips and falls while attempting to run away. George, the King of the Jungle, comes to Ursula’s rescue.
When Max and Thor finally make it to the treehouse, Shep yells for Max to run after he tries to shoot him for his ivory. Everyone is startled by the sight of the talking ape, so Max and Thor decide to tranquilize and capture him. George rushes to stop them, but Lyle accidentally shoots him because he mistook the gun for his novelty lighter, which he had intended to scare George away with. After the porters identify Lyle as the shooter, he is put in jail; Max and Thor are deported, but they decide to go back to the treehouse and catch Ape so they can sell him for a huge sum of money in Las Vegas; in the meantime, Ursula takes George to San Francisco to receive treatment for his gunshot wound and to introduce him to the human world, which he hasn’t seen since he was a baby.
While Ursula is at work, George explores San Francisco on his own and uses his vine-swinging skills to rescue a man whose paraglider has become stuck on the suspension cables of the Bay Bridge. Now disgusted with Lyle, Ursula tells her parents what happened in Africa and plans to call off the wedding, but her controlling mother Beatrice objects. At a party meant to celebrate Ursula’s engagement, Beatrice pulls George aside and sternly tells him that Ursula’s marriage to Lyle must go ahead as scheduled, threatening to hurt George if he tries to interfere.
After Max and Thor calm Ape down back in Burundi, Ape sends Tookie to look for George before he passes out and is taken prisoner. After George learns about Ape’s capture via Tookie, who is flying to San Francisco, George is compelled to depart from Ursula and head back to Burundi. Ursula discovers she loves George and sets out to find him in spite of her mother’s objections, even if she is perplexed by his mysterious disappearance.
After being led astray by a false shortcut trail, Max and Thor return to the treehouse and find George there. They quickly subdue him, and with the aid of Ursula and the animals, George frees himself, defeats the poachers, and saves Ape. Meanwhile, Lyle reappears, having broken free from prison, joined a cult, and transformed into a duly ordained minister qualified to perform marriage ceremonies. Lyle has George subdued by a group of hired mercenaries and forcibly leads Ursula to a boat waiting on Ape River to carry out their marriage rites. However, the ceremony is cut short by a series of treacherous rapids that endanger them both.
With Shep’s and the gorillas’ assistance, George manages to elude the mercenaries and swings in to save Ursula and Lyle, but not before crashing painfully into a massive tree that falls over the river, allowing George to rescue Ursula while the rapids force Lyle into a dark cave. Lyle, believing Ursula is still in the boat, proclaims their wedding vows, only to find to his horror that he has just married himself to a gorilla. After declaring their love for one another, the marriage is witnessed by the inhabitants of both Africa and San Francisco, as well as the animals of the jungle. Sometime later, the two are living in their own treehouse, raising a son named George Jr., whom they present to the animals from atop Pride Rock.
Brendan Fraser Encino Man
Fraser got his first leading film role alongside Sean Astin and Pauly Shore in the 1992 comedy film Encino Man. The film was a moderate box office success and has gained a cult following. It revolves around acceptance and friendship that co-stars Pauly Shore, Sean Astin from Stranger Things, and Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan. Fraser plays “Link,” a caveman who had been frozen and thaws out in sunny California; he is discovered by two teenagers considered outcasts at their high school, and humor ensues.
In the plot, an earthquake in 1992 awakens Encino teenager Dave Morgan, who, unlike his popular classmate Stoney Brown, fails to achieve popularity in high school. Although Robyn Sweeney was his best friend in elementary school and he had rejected her multiple times before, Dave is now in love with her. Because of Dave’s fondness for Robyn, her jock boyfriend Matt Wilson frequently makes fun of Stoney and Dave. One day, Dave finds the caveman trapped in a massive block of ice while working on his backyard pool. Before heading out for school the following morning, he leaves the ice block in the garage unsupervised. When space heaters are left on, the ice melts and releases the caveman.
When Dave and Stoney get home, the walls are covered in hand paint, and the house is in disarray. They follow a beeping smoke alarm to Dave’s bedroom, where they find the caveman trying to start a fire. At first, he panics at seeing them and hearing a phone, but Stoney calms him down by hypnotizing him with the lighter flame, and after bathing and grooming him, Dave names him Link.
After obtaining some clothing for Link and tricking Dave’s parents and sister into believing he is an exchange student from Estonia sent to live with them, Dave and Stoney enroll him in school, where Link’s odd behavior and exceptional athletic ability make Dave and Stoney popular by association, allowing Dave to get closer to Robyn and fueling Matt’s rage. Eventually, Stoney’s eccentric attitude influences Link’s own mannerisms, which causes a rift between Dave and Stoney. Matt starts a fight with Link at a skating rink and grows even more enraged after Robyn gets away.
On a school field trip to the La Brea Tar Pits, Link laments the death of all the cavepeople he knew; Stoney and Dave reassure him that he will not be alone during this period of time. Later, during a driver’s ed lesson, Link drives away in a car with Dave, Stoney, and Robyn before stopping at a dance club. Dave and Link are arrested by the police following them there. Disappointed by the caveman’s antics and Robyn’s wish to attend the forthcoming prom, Dave tries to leave Link behind, but Stoney chastises him. This sparks a brawl between the two. Link returns and breaks up the altercation, prompting Dave to issue an apology for his actions.
Dave spends the prom night at home while Link, who is dating Robyn, is the life of the party. Photo proof that links to a caveman is taken by Matt, who bursts into Dave’s bedroom. Another earthquake occurs while Stoney and Dave are pursuing Matt and his companions. As Matt tries to ruin Link’s and Dave’s reputation by calling Link a caveman, Link becomes even more well-liked. Dave and Robyn reconcile, Matt is embarrassed, and the three lads lead the prom as a whole in an unplanned caveman-style dance to the tunes of Infectious Grooves.
Following the prom, Dave and Robyn share a kiss during a pool party at his place, attended by a few of the students. Meanwhile, Stoney and Link uncover breast prints on the slider and paint coating the walls of Dave’s home. They locate Link’s girlfriend, who also survived the ice age earthquake, by following muddy footsteps to the restroom. He enthusiastically gives her an embrace as he joins her in the bathtub. She is also fashioned to resemble a contemporary human.
Brenda Fraser Movies and TV Shows
- Dogfight
- Encino Man
- School Ties
- Twenty Bucks
- The Twilight of the Golds
- George of the Jungle
- Still Breathing
- Journey to the End of the Night
- The Last Time
- The Air I Breathe
- Journey to the Center of the Earth
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
- Inkheart