The cinema hall is filled with applause. The film “The Whale” has just been shown at the Venice Film Festival, and now the director and actors are receiving their tribute. But when lead actor Brendan Fraser gets up, somewhat reluctantly, something happens. The cheer goes up. “Bravo!” The main character nods and fiddles with his suit jacket. He looks a little bothered. Is he crying? asks the audience. It has been ten years since Fraser last starred in a film, and even longer since he was a star everyone knew. A few weeks later, the same thing happens again at another film festival, and then again. The tribute that started in September in Venice will be repeated throughout the autumn. Fraser’s acting performance is described as phenomenal, and there is talk of the comeback of the ages. In November, he will be nominated for a Golden Globe award. Then something unexpected happens. It is out of the question to participate in the Golden Globes, he tells the media. The resistance is about the same secret that Brendan Fraser carried for many years, and which is part of the explanation for why Brendan Fraser (54) disappeared from the top shelf in Hollywood. A Himbo is born Brendan Fraser’s early life was a bit all over the place. Together with their Canadian parents and three brothers, they moved a lot around the USA and Europe. All the moving made him good at adapting, playing roles. In London he discovered the theatre, and a spark was lit. He was actually going to study for a master’s in theatre, but a trip to Hollywood turned into a permanent stay. After a few small roles, at the age of 23 he got the lead role in the film “School Ties” (1992). His name and face stood in front of future stars such as Chris O’Donnell, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Photo: Paramount pictures Fraser was tall, dark and had strong jawbones. He had the movie star look, and was called himbo, a male version of bimbo, after he played several scantily clad and slightly naive characters. Fraser also had a look and presence on screen that was once compared to Marilyn Monroe. As the muscular “George of the Jungle” (1997), he experienced his first major success, and Fraser had now become a guy many people noticed. But it was his next role that made him a star. Photo: WALT DISNEY PICTURES/MOVIESTORE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK In 1999 came the action-packed adventure comedy “The Mummy” in which Fraser played adventurer and former mercenary Rick O’Connell. The film received lukewarm reception from critics, and the film company feared competition from both Star Wars and James Bond, but it was a success, grossing over $400 million. Photo: UNIVERSAL PICTURES / ZUMA PRESS – At the start of the millennium he was a really hot name, says the Film Police’s Birger Vestmo. Sequels were popular even then, and Hollywood built on the success of “The Mummy”. It would cost Fraser a lot. From the top shelf to “Elling” Fraser was known as an actor who often gave that little extra to make a scene “look cool”. In the first Mummy movie, things almost went wrong. His character was to be executed by hanging, but the dramatic scene did not go quite as planned. In short, the rope was so tight around Fraser’s neck that he passed out. The other Mummy films were also action-packed and demanding, but after the third edition in 2008, the body had had enough. There were extensive operations on the back, knees and vocal cords, and Fraser was in and out of hospital for seven years. The mummy train continued without him. He could no longer be the tough hero who did his own stunts. But it was more than just the body that was the problem. A bad divorce gave the psyche a crack. There was also another reason why Fraser disappeared from the limelight, but it was not revealed until many years later. He was still doing roles, but he was no longer on Hollywood’s top shelf. His name and face on the poster was no longer a criterion of success. In 2010 he played in an American theater version of Ingvar Ambjørnsen’s “Elling”. But after only one week, the play was taken off the Broadway bill due to poor ticket sales. Photo: Ethel Barrymore Theater In the years that followed, he mostly appeared in various productions that few remember the name of, or found out that Fraser was in. A 15-year-old secret In 2018, Fraser was interviewed in connection with a new TV series. However, he had more on his mind. This was a few months after #metoo had exploded, and a number of female actors had come forward with stories of sexual abuse. Now Fraser was ready to tell his own story. During an event in 2003, a high-ranking male member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the people behind the Golden Globe Awards, is said to have treated Fraser in a very indecent way. Fraser reacted with panic and fear. He considered coming forward with the story at the time, but didn’t dare. He was afraid of the consequences it could have on his career. According to Fraser, his representatives asked for a written apology. The man is said to have then sent a letter to Fraser, but it contained no concessions. According to Fraser, he is said to have rarely been invited to the Golden Globe after this. – If this happened as he describes it, then his story shows the complication of being a man and experiencing this, says news’s culture commentator Inger-Merete Hobbelstad. In 2003 he was a “leading man”, which was very strongly associated with being heterosexually desirable, explains Hobbelstad. – The world has come further, but at that time, and with that position, you had to be the man’s man. Any association with homosexual advances, even if highly undesirable, would have been difficult for an actor in that position to record. In the interview from 2018, he said that it still affected him, 15 years later, and that the incident had contributed to him disappearing from the limelight. – Am I still scared? Absolutely. Does it feel like I have to speak up? Absolutely. Have I wanted it many, many times? Absolutely. Did I stop myself? Absolutely, he said. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association responded in 2018 that they distanced themselves from such behavior and promised an investigation. However, the accused member had a different version, and the case had no consequences for him. Brenessansen The interview in which he appeared set a reading record. People who had wondered where Fraser had become now had a more nuanced version of what had happened. He received a lot of support, and on social media his name appeared under the hashtag #brenessaince. People wanted Fraser to be resurrected on the top shelf in Hollywood, and now they were cheering him on. The Bren renaissance was underway, and soon it was really going to pick up speed. Director Darren Aronofsky had previously ensured that “old” stars were allowed to shine again. Mickey Rourke had shown the finger to Hollywood and was far away from the screen when he had another round in the manege in the critically acclaimed film “The Wrestler”. Now the respected director had the island party on Brendan Fraser for his new film project. In 2020, Aronofsky had been looking for someone to star in “The Whale” for a long time and had almost given up, but then he had seen Fraser in a low-budget Brazilian film. – I knew he could play someone who people initially write off, but after five minutes they feel something for him, and after 20 minutes they have become happy with the character. There is just something about Brendan, Aronofsky has explained to Variety magazine. Perhaps Fraser was surprised when he received the offer. He had indeed been a Hollywood star, but he was always the one giving out awards, not the one receiving them. And now the Oscar-nominated Aronofsky would have Fraser do one of his most challenging roles. In the film, Fraser plays the very overweight teacher Charlie. He lives alone and teaches students over Zoom, but without the camera on (he blames it on technical failure). Contact with the outside world is minimal, and he struggles with eating disorders. When his health deteriorates, he makes contact with his daughter, whom he left many years ago. To become Charlie, Fraser had to wear a prosthesis, a so-called “fat suit”. Photo: A24 – The guy I play here is the most heroic person I’ve ever played. His superpower is seeing the good in other people, Fraser has stated. “Brendan Fraser gives the role of his life,” wrote one reviewer. news’s own Birger Vestmo thinks Fraser’s effort in front of the camera is nothing short of phenomenal: “Perhaps it is because you remember him as a handsome action hero 20 years ago that it makes an extra impression to see him play a man in total decay, both physically and mentally. The body is enormous, the gluttony is repulsive, but in his eyes, one of Fraser’s best tools, we still occasionally see flashes of spark, humor and zest for life.”, he wrote in the review. After the standing ovation at the premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Brenessansen rolled on with a similar reception throughout the autumn. Many will probably see a serious film award as the perfect comeback for Brendan Fraser, but then there was this with the Golden Globes, then. There he is nominated for best male lead role. Thanks to the strained relationship he has with the HFPA and the Golden Globes, he will not be attending. Many are sure that he will be seen at the Oscars in March. – A fabulously good acting performance that will be nominated for an Oscar, I’m absolutely sure of that, says Birger Vestmo. It is known that Hollywood loves a good comeback. History also shows that actors who have gone through a major transformation to become a character often go all the way to the top when the Oscar statuettes are handed out. Charlize Theron (“Monster”), Nicole Kidman (“The Hours”) and Robert De Niro (“Raging Bull”) are just a few examples. The Golden Globe awards take place on the night of 11 January Norwegian time. The Oscar nominations will be announced on 24 January. Should there be no film awards, you can call Brenessansen complete anyway. Fraser is back, and later this year he will appear in film legend Martin Scorsese’s new film “Killers of the Flower Moon”. Fraser himself is not too happy with the comeback description. The most important thing for him is to be recognized for the work he does, regardless of the path that led him there. SOURCES: GQ, Variety, Washington Post, People. Hi! Thanks for reading this far. Do you have feedback on the case, or a tip for something else news Kultur should look at? Please send me an email.
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The superstar who disappeared – Culture
