Finding the perfect action-adventure film hero isn't easy. Hunky and handsome is obviously a
must, but let’s face it, looks can’t always save the day. The perfect action hero needs to have
a balance of looks, smarts, and that little bit of witty humor to give his character an
extra spicy charm. So when Brendan Fraser hit the big screen with The Mummy films,
Hollywood knew that it hit the action hero jackpot. But if Hollywood has taught it’s
fans anything, it’s that things are not always as perfect as they appear on screen.
At the height of his career, Fraser seemed unstoppable. He was 6ft of nothing but the perfect
combination of brains, good looks and a charming nature that Hollywood just couldn’t get enough of.
Unfortunately, right at the peak of his Hollywood career,
Fraser experienced an unimaginable amount of trauma that forced him to turn his back on his
new found celebrity status. Over the span of just one decade, the actor endured the type of
pain that nobody should have to experience, and he kept it bottled up until recently.
We have the real story behind Brendan Fraser’s heartbreaking fall from fame
and the truth behind the actor’s long-kept secret of pain and loss.
So don’t go anywhere juicers. And remember to subscribe to Rumor Juice because we’re going to
keep you up to date with all the latest celebrity news that 2021 has to offer!
After graduating highschool in 1990, Fraser went straight to New York to pursue acting.
However, after a brief visit to Los Angeles, he left The Big Apple and stayed on in Hollywood
to build a career in film. Within his first year in LA, Fraser was almost
immediately cast in films. He was cast in his first movie, Dogfight, starring River Phoenix,
after which Fraser received his Screen Actors Guild membership and (quote) "an extra 50 bucks".
"I think I bruised a rib," Fraser remembered about the making of Dogfight. "But I was like: 'That's
OK! I'll take it. I can do it again. If you want, I'll break it. You want me to do it again?'"
The actor was enthusiastic and willing to go above and beyond for his performances.
Little did he know that this would lead to some serious physical injuries later on in his career.
While he wasn’t raking in the cash just yet, the movie roles just kept coming.
Fraser featured in several other films over the years,
and finally he was approached with his major breakout part… in George of the Jungle!
Move out of the way Tarzan, because George was the real master of the jungle in 1997.
Fraser’s physique was jaw-dropping as he swung from vines as George,
and his sweet smile and long tousled hair, had all the ladies swooning. It seemed like
nothing could go wrong for the young actor. And his biggest film role was still yet to come…
Brendan Fraser’s personal life was also going well for him.
He married actress Afton Smith in 1998 and the couple went on to have three sons.
The following year brought Fraser one of his biggest movie deals, and probably the
highlight of the actor’s career. The Mummy was born, and Fraser was Hollywood’s leading man.
He starred along the beautiful Rachel Weisz, and their chemistry sizzled on screen.The movie was
a roaring success, making $416 million from an $80 million budget. It should come as no
surprise then that the actor signed on to continue with the franchise and make two more sequels.
It seems though that Fraser was perhaps too eager to say YES to films, rather than take it at a slow
pace and enjoy the success that The Mummy brought. The next 5, yes you heard right, 5 films that the
actor starred in, did nowhere nearly as well as his first ones … in fact, it’s safe to say that
they did pretty poorly and it took a serious toll on Fraser’s mental and physical health.
The constant travel to film to promote these movies, ontop of doing all of his own stunts,
resulted in Fraser almost literally falling to pieces. He says he spent
seven years of the early 2000’s in and out of hospital. He told GQ:
"Screw-cap ice packs and downhill mountain-biking pads, 'cause they're small
and light and they can fit under your clothes, I was building an exoskeleton for myself daily.”
As a result of pushing himself so hard on set, the actor suffered several serious injuries which
eventually required surgery. He had to have a partial knee replacement, surgery on his back,
bolting various compressed spinal pads together and the list goes on.
At one point he even needed to have his vocal cords repaired.
It was as though Fraser couldn’t say NO to Hollywood. The more Hollywood wanted,
the more Fraser would give … unfortunately, it got to the point where there was almost
nothing left for the actor to give. It was like pouring water from an empty cup.
And then … poof … it was like Fraser completely disappeared from our screens. From very quickly
becoming one of Hollywood’s household names, and suddenly … nothing. You can’t help but
wonder what happened that could have driven the actor away from his stardome. There’s no way we
could have known that Fraser’s story was a lot more tragic than anyone could have imagined.
It was almost a decade later that Fraser decided to sit down for a completely candid interview with
GQ Magazine, where he finally told his story of what truly made him turn away from Hollywood.
It was back in 2003, when Fraser attended a lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel
thrown by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The HFPA is the group that
throws the Golden Globes and is composed of a number of international film critics.
As Fraser was leaving the event he went to shake hands with Philip Berk,
former president of the Association. According to Fraser, Berk went on to
sexually fondle his backside, violating the actor and catching him completely off guard.
Berk later explained that it was nothing more than a pinch, and it should have been taken as a joke.
Fraser went on to explain that there was nothing funny about what the former president did.
"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 … I felt like someone had thrown invisible paint on me."
It should not come as a surprise that the violation threw Fraser into a deep depression,
and the actor credits it with the decline in his career. He sought out an apology from Berk
after the incident and the Association, however they "admitted no wrongdoing".
Fraser believes that he has rarely been invited back to the Golden Globes because of the incident
and has been struggling to land big movie roles ever since.
"I was blaming myself and I was miserable — because I was saying,
'This is nothing; this guy reached around and he copped a feel … And
maybe I am overreacting in terms of what the instance was. I just know what my truth is.'"
But that wasn’t all that the actor had to get off of his chest.
As a result of the lack of film work, Fraser turned to taking small roles in TV shows.
In 2016, Fraser joined the third season of The Affair as prison guard. Audiences were captivated
by his performance and for a moment it felt like the actor was making an official comeback.
However, it was not as easy as it may have appeared for the struggling actor.
During one of his online press interviews for The Affair, appearing to be on the verge of tears,
his expression was turned into a meme and went viral. The interview was difficult to watch,
because for most of it the actor seems tearful and terribly sad, speaking in an
almost inaudible whisper. Audience theories went wild, wondering if perhaps Fraser’s emotional
behavior was a result of his failed acting career or the divorce from his wife in 2009.
The truth behind his tears could not have been more heartbreaking.
Fraser confessed to GQ that his mother had died of cancer just days before the interview.
“I buried my mom, … I think I was in mourning, and I didn't know what that meant.”
He hadn't done press for a long time and suddenly he was sitting in front of an audience,
promoting the third season of a show where his role wasn’t that big.
After the loss of the most important woman in his life,
the actor was overwhelmed with emotions and couldn’t contain it for the interview.
It had clearly been a difficult decade for Fraser,
and it seems that he truly battled to keep himself together and his family afloat.
“I changed houses; I went through a divorce. Some kids were born.
I mean, they were born, but they're growing up. I was going through things that mold
and shape you in ways that you're not ready for until you go through them.”
Since opening up to GQ, the actor has been making his way back on to our screens,
starring in The Professionals, The Secret of Karma and even voicing a character in Doom Patrol.
Perhaps opening up about the trauma of his past allowed Fraser to let
go of some of the pain he had been holding onto for so long.
The actor seems to slowly be getting back on his feet, taking on work in his own time
and making sure to take care of himself while doing so. The rise and fall of
Hollywood actors’ is always unexpected, and if Fraser’s story teaches us anything,
it’s that we never truly know what’s happening behind the scenes.