Highlights
- Brendan Fraser faced career setbacks and believes he was blacklisted from Hollywood after speaking out about assault.
- Despite his successes in 2024, Fraser had little work coming, suggesting that Hollywood still has reservations about casting him.
- Fraser is currently unemployed but is being picky about his future projects, maintaining a certain level of standards for his career.
When Brendan Fraser won his Oscar for The Whale, many fans may have felt vindicated. It had been years — decades even — since Brendan Fraser was in a blockbuster or any film that earned critical acclaim.
Despite his disappearance from Hollywood, Fraser has plenty of fans rooting for him. But as it turned out, that didn’t matter when Hollywood blacklisted the actor, wreaking havoc on his career for years to come. Even after his successes in 2024, Brendan reportedly had little to no work coming down the pipeline, suggesting that Hollywood still has reservations about casting him.
Brendan Fraser Thinks He Was Blacklisted From Hollywood
Speaking out about assault led to Brendan losing work
Brendan Fraser waited a few years before revealing that the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s (HFPA) Golden Globes awards show had assaulted him. In various interviews, Fraser explained that he didn’t feel strong enough to speak up during the #MeToo movement, but he later divulged some uncomfortable details about the interaction.
In one interview, Brendan revealed that his team demanded an apology from Philip Berk, who stated that he only “pinched” Brendan’s rear, rather than assaulted Brendan to the extent the actor described.
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Berk’s “apology” apparently stated, “If I’ve done anything that upset Mr. Fraser, it was not intended and I apologize.” The HFPA apparently refused to open an investigation, instead labeling Berk’s behavior “a joke.”
Fraser said he didn’t work for two years afterward, and Hollywood stopped calling.
Brendan Lost Some Work (And Turned Down A Few Projects)
Fraser was picky about his roles, but also didn’t receive many offers
After speaking out about the alleged assault, Brendan Fraser suggested that he was effectively blacklisted in Hollywood. By choice, Fraser opted out of attending the Golden Globes, but it’s unclear what the reception would have been like had he attended.
Fraser had a few opportunities that ended up slipping away; Brendan was poised to play Superman in Superman Returns, and losing out on the role had him feeling like a failure. Fraser was also in the lineup for The Fantastic Four, but that didn’t come to fruition either.
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At the time, Brendan sounded cautiously optimistic about picking up other roles, rather than lamenting what he had lost. It wasn’t until years later that he would admit it seemed like he had been blacklisted due to speaking out about his experiences.
Yet there was some support in the industry for Fraser, specifically from industry icon Adam Sandler. In an interview, Sandler claimed that he helped start Brendan’s career in the ’90s by threatening to drop out of Airheads if Brendan wasn’t cast, too. That revelation came in 2022, while the two chatted during an Actors on Actors interview.
Despite the perception that Brendan is alone in Hollywood, it seems evident that he still has support from some of the industry’s hardest hitters. Yet that doesn’t mean he’s booked up for the foreseeable future.
Even After His Academy Award, Brendan Had No Work Lined Up
Fraser has been transparent about his lack of opportunity in Hollywood
What is Brendan Fraser doing now? The answer might be that he’s not quite sure. After The Whale, Brendan admitted that he was essentially unemployed. During a film panel appearance, Fraser explained, “At the moment, I don’t have anything — I’m really being picky right now.”
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Fans might recall that beyond turning down a George of the Jungle sequel and losing out on some roles, Brendan also has specific standards for his work. He has also made comments about other actors’ work that suggest he is very serious about his career and will choose his projects carefully, even if there are few projects on offer to begin with.
Brendan doesn’t believe he’s topped out in his career, which seems to drive him to be critical of the projects he works on. He seems to be looking for a certain kind of acting environment — unlike the non-fun environment that Tom Cruise’s The Mummy apparently had.
Perhaps fortunately for the actor, early 2024 was promising in some sense; with Fraser’s four “upcoming” projects as outlined by IMDb, it seems that he may be busier than anticipated throughout 2024 and beyond.
Source: NewsFinale
