Throwing a rock in Hollywood in the 1990s and early 2000s was all it took to strike at least three different Brendan Fraser movies in the making, whether they were action blockbusters like The Mummy, comedies like George of the Jungle, or dramas like Crash.
In the mid-2000s, after probably reaching the height of his career, Fraser disappeared from Hollywood altogether.
Since Brendan Fraser’s disappearance from the spotlight in the 2000s and 2010s, fans of the actor may have wondered, “Why doesn’t he perform any longer?”
What happened to Brendan Fraser who was once everywhere?
Fans will recall a tragic 2018 interview in which he claimed that a groping incident forced him to leave acting.
In 2003, actor Brendan Fraser accused a former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association of molesting him. The claimed event, according to the 52-year-old, is one of the reasons he has remained out of the spotlight for so long.
His left-hand reaches around grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around. 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.
Philip Berk denied the claim in an email to GQ, saying “Mr. Fraser’s version is a total fabrication.”
However, Fraser is getting more opportunities these days, and his career appears to be reviving.
In June 2021, he made a rare red carpet appearance at Tribeca Film Festival for his movie No Sudden Move.
Brendan Fraser was renowned for his high-flying, physical roles in films like George of the Jungle and The Mummy during the pinnacle of his career. However, those action movies took a toll on his body.
I believe I probably was trying too hard, in a way that’s destructive. By the time I did the third Mummy picture in China [in 2008] I was put together with tape and ice — just, like, really nerdy and fetishy about ice packs. 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.
-Fraser in a profile with GQ
His injuries resulted in several surgeries, including a laminectomy, a back procedure to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.
He also underwent partial knee replacement, further back surgery to bolt compressed spinal pads, vocal cord repair, and other treatments. Fraser claimed he went in and out of the hospital for most of the time in seven years.
Fraser said that his injuries were one of the many reasons he stayed away from the spotlight, along with being sexually harassed by Philip Berk.
Fraser will also be seen in a Martin Scorsese directed film Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
The actor recently went viral for an emotional video in which he is visibly moved by his newfound support and his upcoming role with Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorcese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.
He also starred in the anthology drama Trust (2018) and the political thriller Condor (2018) prior to his career comeback.
With his ex-wife, Afron Smith, he has three children. From 1998 to 2008, the couple was married.