Brendan James Fraser was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, a Canadian travel executive moved the family around a great deal so Fraser spent time in a variety of locales like Ottawa, Rome, London and even Seattle and Detroit. Fraser’s earliest exposure to theater occurred in London, which led him to attend Seattle’s Cornish Institute. Following graduation, he won a small role as “Sailor #1” in the 1991 romantic war drama Dogfight, which also starred the late River Phoenix. Yet, it was his roles in the 1992 comedy Encino Man and the 1992 drama School Ties that made Hollywood stand up and take notice of this tall statuesque actor who could play drama as well as physical comedy. In honor of his 45th birthday, here is a Top 10 list of Brendan Fraser movies.
10. Crash: This 2004 drama centered on racial and social pressures in Los Angeles, California. Fraser played Rick Cabot, the local district attorney, who along with his wife, Jean, played by Sandra Bullock, were carjacked by two African-American men. The movie had an ensemble cast of Hollywood heavy hitters like Terrence Howard, Matt Dillon and Don Cheadle among others. Though it was a small part, Fraser portrayed a man knee deep in the racial tensions of a big city wonderfully.
9. Encino Man: This 1992 comedy had Fraser co-starring with Pauly Shore and Sean Astin. Shore and Astin’s characters find Fraser’s caveman in their backyard encased in ice. After they thawed him out, they acquainted him with life in the 20th century and hilarity ensued! The movie was a box office success despite being panned by critics. Fraser’s portrayal of a caveman adapting to life in the 20th century was hysterical and showcased Fraser’s flair for physical comedy. The movie also introduced Hollywood to Fraser’s comedic talents.
8. School Ties: This 1992 drama put Fraser on Hollywood’s radar for his dramatic acting prowess. Fraser co-starred with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris O’Donnell. Set in the 1950s, Fraser played David Greene, a Jewish high school student who was transferred from a public school to a New England prep school after being awarded an athletic scholarship. He was then forced to conceal his religion after witnessing his classmates prejudice. Fraser gave a stellar performance as a young man living with unjustified bigotry and overcoming it with class.
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7. Blast from the Past: This 1999 romantic comedy had Fraser co-starring with Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, Dave Foley and Nathan Fillion. Fraser played Adam Webber, who was born in a fallout shelter after his father, Calvin (Walken) thought a plane that crashed into their house was really the start of nuclear war. When Calvin had a medical crisis, Adam’s mother, Helen (Spacek) told Adam that he needed to get help so he emerged from the shelter and meets Eve (Silverstone) and her gay roommate/best friend Troy (Foley.) Eve and Adam fall in love and Adam learned there was no nuclear war. Fraser’s down-to-earth, endearing naivety made him shine in the role and made moviegoers fall in love with Fraser’s sweet personality.
6. George of the Jungle: This 1997 live-action adaptation of the cartoon of the same name was produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Fraser starred opposite Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church and Holland Taylor. Fraser played the title character, a Tarzan-like man who was a tad bit clumsier. Heiress Ursula Stanhope (Mann) meets George while exploring the jungle with her obnoxious fiancé Lyle Van De Groot (Church.) Ursula and George fall in love and she brings him back to San Francisco with her much to her mother, Beatrice’s (Taylor’s) dismay. Fraser really showed off his gift for physical comedy as the awkward George got into one off-the-wall situation after another. Yet, his quirky and charming inexperience won over moviegoers and Fraser’s ripped physique didn’t hurt ticket sales either, LOL!
5. Bedazzled: This 2000 fantasy/comedy was a remake of the 1967 film of the same name. This version, directed by Harold Ramis, had Fraser starring opposite the gorgeous Elizabeth Hurley. Fraser played the geeky Elliot Richards, who worked tech support at a San Francisco computer company. He has no friends, his co-workers go out of their way to avoid him and he has a crush on colleague, Alison Gardner, played by Frances McDormand. Elliot meets Satan in the form of Elizabeth Hurley, when at a bar, she overhears him say to himself that he would give anything for Alison to be with him and offers him seven wishes in return for his soul. Fraser and Hurley made a deliciously devious comedic pair as each of Elliot’s wishes ended with him getting into hilarious trouble but never wavering in his determination to win Alison’s heart. Fraser was suave, goofy and serious all in one role and moviegoers loved it.
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4. The Mummy Returns: This 2001 adventure flick was the sequel to the hit 1999 film The Mummy. Fraser co-starred again with Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Oded Fehr plus Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Rick and Evelyn were now married with a young son named Alex. A resurrected Imhotep, a Scorpion King and Evelyn’s continued visions of a past life made this movie a never-ending escapade. Fraser again put out a full out performance as hero Rick O’Connell, who must save his wife, son and brother-in-law from two unstoppable enemies. Here. Fraser demonstrated yet again, his aptitude for action mixed with wit.
3. Mrs. Winterbourne: This 1996 romantic comedy was loosely based on Cornell Woolrich’s novel I Married a Dead Man, which was already made into a movie, 1950’s No Man of Her Own starring Barbara Stanwyck. In this version, Fraser co-starred with Ricki Lake and Shirley MacLaine. Fraser played dual roles, twins Hugh and Bill Winterbourne, brothers of a rich family. Hugh meets a pregnant Connie Doyle (Lake) when she gets on the wrong train. They become friends and she meets his also pregnant wife Patricia. The train crashes and both Hugh and Patricia are killed. Because Patricia lent Connie her wedding to try on before the crash, everyone thinks Connie is Patricia. Misunderstandings, mistaken identities and white lies made for sidesplitting comedy as Connie tries to tell the Winterbourne family, Hugh’s mother, Grace (MacLaine) and his twin brother Bill, the truth but finds herself falling for Bill. Fraser was hilarious as one brother who was laid-back and the other who was as cold as ice before Connie came into his life. Here, Fraser demonstrated his knack for playing dual roles with drastically different personalities.
2. With Honors: This 1994 dramedy had Fraser co-starring with Patrick Dempsey of future Grey’s Anatomy fame, Moira Kelly, known for her role in 1992’s The Cutting Edge, Josh Hamilton, Gore Vidal and Joe Pesci. Fraser played Montgomery "Monty" Kessler, who was an honors student in the Government program at Harvard University. He meets the homeless Simon Wilder when his computer crashes, he goes to make copies of his senior thesis but trips and drops it down the grate into the library’s boiler room where Simon is living. After a rocky start, Monty and Simon become friends and Simon also befriends Monty’s roommates, Courtney (Kelly,) and Everett (Dempsey) and Jeff (Hamilton.) They eventually learn that Simon is dying from asbestosis from his years in the Merchant Marines. Fraser portrayed humility as Simon made Monty look at life differently and completely rewrite his senior thesis and compassion as he and the others were by Simon’s side until the end. IMO, one of the most touching performances of Fraser’s career.
1. The Mummy: This 1999 action adventure romp made Fraser a bonafide action star. Co-starring Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr and Patricia Velasquez. Fraser played adventurer Rick O’Connell in search of land of Hamunaptra, who many believed was a myth. He meets Evelyn ‘Evy’ Carnahan (Weisz) and her brother Jonathan (Hannah.) All three go on a quest to find the fabled city and end up running into the resurrected “Mummy,” aka Imhotep (Vosloo,) who was hellbent on regaining his throne and resurrecting his girlfriend, Anck-su-Namun (Velasquez.) It’s a nonstop thrill ride of explosions, near-misses, ancient totems, curses and of course romance as Rick and Evy fall in love despite the absolute wickedness that threatens to wipe out civilization as they know it. Fraser is top-notch as a no-nonsense adventurer determined to save the world from the greatest evil of all!