Brendan Fraser Biography

Brendan Fraser was the square-jawed, fresh-faced star of the hit 1999 film The Mummy and its sequels (2001, 2008) who took a 15-year career detour before bouncing back in 2022 in his Oscar-winning role in The Whale.

Brendan Fraser first gained notice for his goofy bare-chested roles in Encino Man (1992, co-starring Sandra Hess, with Fraser as an unfrozen caveman in modern-day California) and George of the Jungle (1997, with Fraser as a Tarzan-like jungle man).

He then found critical success in Gods and Monsters (1998, starring Ian McKellen), and box office success in the first The Mummy (co-starring Rachel Weisz).

Along the way he appeared in comedies and dramas, from Blast From the Past (1999) to The Quiet American (2002, starring Michael Caine).

Eager and able on the big screen, Fraser made himself a likable presence, if not a superstar, in Hollywood. His other films included Crash (2004, starring Don Cheadle), The Air I Breathe (2007, with Sarah Michelle Gellar), the 2008 screen version of Jules Verne‘s Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Furry Vengeance (2010).

Then Fraser dropped off the radar, later citing a combination of health and personal issues. He was reintroduced to movie stardom years later, by way of a stunning dramatic performance in Darren Aronofsky‘s The Whale (2022).