“Brenaissance completed,” Brendan Fraser captioned a photo of himself holding up his Oscar for best actor in a leading role. Fans refer to Fraser’s return to acting as the ‘Brenaissance’, conflating Brendan and Renaissance. In fact, several years ago, the most optimistic fan would have found it difficult to conjure up an image of Fraser winning an Oscar.
The ’90s star faded from public consciousness in the early 2010s. In late 2016, he appeared in an interview for AOL’s BUILD channel and couldn’t hide his sadness. It seemed that Fraser had hit rock bottom, and perhaps he had. This piece explores the reasons why Fraser retired from acting for a time.
Contents
- 1 Fraser left Hollywood due to an alleged sexual assault by former HFPA President Philip Berk.
- 2 Fraser’s body was falling apart and his personal life was a mess.
- 3 Fraser felt that he was not good enough to continue starring in Hollywood.
- 4 The actor’s confession about Berk’s alleged aggression sparked his return to the top
Fraser left Hollywood due to an alleged sexual assault by former HFPA President Philip Berk.
The main reason Brendan Fraser left Hollywood was an alleged sexual assault by Philip Berk at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2003.
Philip Berk wrote in his memoirs that he jokingly pinched Fraser’s behind; fraser said G.Q. that Berk did much more: “His left hand reaches out, grabs my buttock, and one of his fingers touches me on the spot. And he starts to move it.”
Fraser told the outlet that he eventually took Berk’s hand off, but the experience scarred him. “I felt sick,” Fraser said. The Encino Man star, who nearly collapsed, said he felt “like a little kid.” He ran home and confessed to his ex-wife, Afton.
Fraser largely kept the incident hidden, eating him up inside. Berk, unsurprisingly, pleaded not guilty. “My apology did not admit to wrongdoing, the usual ‘If I did something to upset Mr. Fraser, it was unintentional and I apologize,'” Berk wrote to G.Q..
Fraser said he became depressed after the assault: “I blamed myself and felt miserable, because I thought, ‘This is nothing; this guy came up and touched it.’”
The Oscar winner said G.Q. who gradually withdrew from the limelight. “He made me feel lonely,” she said. In addition, he felt ostracized by the HFPA, which said he rarely invited him to the Golden Globes after the Berk incident. “His career declined through no fault of our own,” Berk said. GQ.
Fraser said the incident corrupted his sense of identity. “In my mind, at least, something had been taken from me,” she said.
Fraser’s body was falling apart and his personal life was a mess.
Another reason behind Fraser’s sabbatical from Hollywood was his ailing body and the disintegration of his personal life.
Fraser performed most of his stunts, which took its toll. said the actor G.Q. he needed an ‘exoskeleton’ made of bike pads and ice packs to support his body. “When I did the third Mummy movie in China, he was armed with duct tape and ice,” Fraser said.
Fraser required multiple surgeries to remedy the injuries. The surgeons worked on her back, her knee and her vocal cords. Fraser said that she visited hospitals constantly for almost seven years. “I felt like the Animal Farm horse,” said Fraser, “whose job it was to work and work and work.”
At home, Fraser’s relationship with Afton deteriorated, culminating in their divorce. “I was going through things that shape you and mold you in ways that you’re not ready for until you go through it,” Fraser said.
Days before that infamous 2016 interview, Fraser lost her mother to cancer. “I think she was in mourning and didn’t know what that meant,” she said. Fraser was sad and confused: it had been a while since his last interview, so the unfamiliar format surprised him and made him feel old.
“Going to work, between being in and out of those hospitals, that wasn’t always possible,” Fraser said.
Fraser felt that he was not good enough to continue starring in Hollywood.
At the time Berk allegedly assaulted Fraser, the actor was in line to play Superman in a new movie. Superman movie. Brett Ratner, the director of the proposed film, called Fraser at his home to discuss the role.
The meeting was awkward: Ratner seemed more interested in taking a photo of Fraser than discussing the film, Fraser said. “The meeting ended with him sitting at a pool table with a phone and having a loud argument with someone in the studio, I don’t know why,” Fraser added.
Fraser did not get the part; Brandon Routh played the superhero. The snub made him feel like an imposter among Hollywood’s elite. He explained:
“You feel like: I didn’t measure up. Ouch, I failed. And the truth is, you didn’t. That is wrong. That is wrong. Is not true. You didn’t fail. You are not. But even if I sit here and tell you that right now, I feel like, well, no, no, the proof is there.”
Despite regaining her place in Hollywood, Fraser still battles feelings of inadequacy. “I can’t get rid of the feeling that someone is going to walk into the room and tell me that I’m a fraud or that I have imposter syndrome. They’re going to give me a tea towel and I’ll have to go back to work,” Brendan said. NME in February 2013.
However, he has learned to use negative feelings as motivation to prove himself. “I’m not done proving myself yet,” he said.
The actor’s confession about Berk’s alleged aggression sparked his return to the top
Fraser watched in amazement as the actors discussed incidents of sexual assault, something she hadn’t done in nearly 15 years. “I watched this wonderful movement, these people with the courage to say what I didn’t have the courage to say,” Fraser said.
In 2018, Fraser spoke with G.Q. about the incident that led to his decline. Interestingly, Fraser’s opening ignited a resurgence for him. “It was people saying they liked me,” Fraser disputed the overwhelmingly positive reaction to his confession. He continued:
“It was a weight lifted. That doesn’t mean I don’t get shot once in a while, but then I come hang out here.”
As evidenced by his stellar turn in The whale, Fraser’s talent never waned. The confession relieved Fraser and allowed her to regain her place among the stars of Hollywood.
Fraser’s icy relationship with the HFPA has not thawed. Following Fraser’s disclosure, the HFPA issued a statement saying that he had a “positive working relationship with Fraser.” In November 2022, Fraser said G.Q. that he would not attend the Golden Globes due to his history with the HFPA. Fraser stated:
“I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. No, I will not participate. [in the Golden Globes]. It’s because of the history I have with them. And my mother did not raise a hypocrite.
Fraser said he will only reconcile with the HFPA if the association offers a sincere apology. He elaborated:
“According to the rules of engagement, it would be my responsibility to take a look at it and make a decision at that point, if that were the situation. And it would have to be, I don’t know, what is the world I’m looking for… honest?”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn