How Brendan Fraser overcame a mid-career slump and became everyone's new favorite comeback story

Fraser was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is the youngest of four sons. Because his father was a Canadian foreign service officer, Fraser holds dual US and Canadian citizenship.

Growing up, his family traveled quite a bit, and Fraser spent time in Europe, the US, and Canada as a child. He went on to attend an elite boarding school in Toronto and subsequently studied at the Actor's Conservatory at Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts.

According to a 1992 New York Times article, Fraser borrowed his mother's car to drive from Seattle to Los Angeles in January 1991, and eventually met up with director Taylor Hackford. While his initial meeting didn't lead to a role in Hackford's film, per the Times, Fraser still went on to book several film roles.

His first major movie was "Encino Man," a 1992 film about a frozen caveman found by two California teenagers, defrosted, and introduced to modern life. That same year, Fraser starred in "School Ties," playing a Jewish student at an anti-Semitic boarding school.

The duo met early on in Fraser's career and, after a few years of dating, got married on September 27, 1998.

Fraser and Smith went on to have three sons together before separating in December 2007.

Fraser starred in "Airheads" — a comedy about a down-and-out rock band trying to get airplay on the radio — opposite Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi. He also played a troubled aspiring MLB player in "The Scout" and a studious Harvard senior in "With Honors."

Fraser also had a small role in the 1995 indie comedy "Glory Daze" and played a supporting part in the drama 1997 "The Twilight of the Golds," which follows a young couple grappling with the decision to keep their baby after a (fictional) genetic test reveals its sexual orientation.

While none of these films were critical successes, they helped make Fraser a household name.

Fraser had a string of box office hits in the late '90s, starting with the 1997 comedy "George of the Jungle," in which he played the goofy, muscled title character.

The actor followed that up with a critically-acclaimed role in "Gods and Monsters (1998)," opposite Ian McKellen. Based on the last days of film director James Whale, "Gods and Monsters" was nominated for several Academy Awards, with Fraser's performance, in particular, generating critical praise.

Fraser went on to play roguish explorer Rick O'Connell in the 1998 blockbuster action film "The Mummy," which also starred Rachel Weisz. That same year, the actor played the titular Canadian Mountie in "Dudley Do-Right," based on the cartoon of the same name.

In addition to his film credits, Fraser also guest-starred on "The Simpsons" around this time, voicing a character in a 1998 episode.

He acted opposite Elizabeth Hurley in "Bedazzled" in 2000, and reprised his role as Rick O'Connell for the 2001 sequel "The Mummy Returns."

For his portrayal of struggling alcoholic Brick in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," Fraser received mixed reviews from critics.

The actor also played a CIA operative in the 2002 period drama "The Quiet American," and appeared opposite Bugs Bunny and other animated characters in the 2003 film "Looney Tunes: Back in Action."

Additionally, Fraser had a guest role on "Scrubs" in 2002 and 2004, and voiced a character on "King of the Hill" during a 2000 episode.

Fraser and Afton Smith welcomed their son Griffin on September 17, 2002. The "Mummy" actor revealed in a 2018 interview with GQ that Griffin is on the autism spectrum, telling reporter Zack Baron that his son "needs extra love in the world, and he gets it."

And in a 2022 interview with longtime friend Freddie Prinze Jr., Fraser explained how Griffin influenced his role as an ailing English teacher living with obesity in the 2022 drama "The Whale."

"I have three kids of my own. My oldest son Griffin has special needs. He's autistic," Fraser told Prinze Jr. "He just turned 20. He's a big kid. He's six foot five. He's got big hands and feet, a big body."

"I understand intimately what it is to be close to a person who lives with obesity," the "Bedazzled" actor continued.

The actor first spoke about his alleged experience at the luncheon during an interview with GQ's Zach Baron.

In the 2018 profile, titled "What Ever Happened to Brendan Fraser," Fraser said that Philip Berk —a former president and member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — inappropriately touched him during a 2003 luncheon held by the HFPA at a Los Angeles hotel.

"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," Fraser said. He added that the incident left him shaken and fearful, and even contributed to his desire to step back from the spotlight for several years.

Berk subsequently denied Fraser's version of events in comments to GQ and said that he only pinched Fraser's butt as a joke. GQ reported that a later inquiry by the HFPA found that Berk did, in fact, touch Fraser, but the report reiterated that it was meant to be taken as a joke.

Philip Berk and the HFPA did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Holden Fletcher was born on August 16, 2004, and Leland Francis was born on May 2, 2006.

In the same 2018 GQ profile where he discussed his eldest son Griffin, Fraser also spoke about the unique connection Griffin has with Holden and Leland.

"Ever since they were small, one was always the spokesperson and the other was the enforcer," the actor said of his youngest sons.

Holden and Leland made a rare public appearance with their father when they walked the red carpet at the New York premiere of "The Whale" in November 2022.

Fraser played a district attorney in the 2004 critically-acclaimed drama "Crash" and portrayed a troubled gambler in the 2006 crime thriller "Journey to the End of the Night."

In 2006, Fraser's drama with Michael Keaton "The Last Time" premiered. The "George of the Jungle" actor went on to appear in the 2007 ensemble drama "The Air I Breathe," opposite Forest Whitaker, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Kevin Bacon. Neither of these films was well-received by critics.

The late 2000s saw Fraser return to blockbusters with his role as explorer Trevor Anderson in the 2008 film "Journey to the Center of the Earth," loosely based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name. He also reprised his role as Rick O'Connell in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," also released in 2008.

That same year, Fraser played Mo in "Inkheart" (also based on a popular novel) and appeared in the 2009 action film "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."

But Fraser later recounted to GQ that his physical health had taken a toll around this time, mostly due to his demanding stunt work on past films.

"By the time I did the third 'Mummy' picture in China, I was put together with tape and ice—just, like, really nerdy and fetishy about ice packs," Fraser told GQ's Zach Baron in a 2018 interview. "I was building an exoskeleton for myself daily."

According to Fraser, he was subsequently in and out of hospitals for the next seven years, undergoing multiple surgeries (including a laminectomy, a partial knee replacement, and a repair to his vocal cords).

Ever the prolific actor, Fraser had roles in "Extraordinary Measures" and "Furry Vengeance," both of which were released in 2010, and in the 2011 U.K. comedy "Whole Lotta Sole" (titled "Stand Off" in North America).

He also appeared in a handful of lower-profile films in 2013, including "Hair Brained" (with Julia Garner and Alex Wolff), "Pawn Shop Chronicles" (with Paul Walker, Elijah Wood, and Norman Reedus), "Breakout," and "Gimme Shelter," which starred Vanessa Hudgens and Rosario Dawson.

As Fraser told GQ, however, he was still dealing with numerous health issues around this time.

Following his role in the 2015 History Channel limited series "Texas Rising," Fraser appeared on season three of Showtime's "The Affair" in 2016, playing a mysterious prison guard who torments Dominic West's character. Fraser's role on the Showtime drama generated praise from critics.

He went on to play James Fletcher Chace in FX's "Trust," a 2018 drama about the wealthy Getty family and their struggles, a role for which he also received critical attention. That same year, Fraser had a recurring role on the crime series "Condor."

On the HBO Max show, Cliff Steele is a former racecar driver whose brain is placed into a mechanical, robotic figure after a horrific car accident destroyed his human body and killed Cliff's wife. His new form gives him immense strength and makes him impervious to physical injury, but Cliff is frequently tormented by memories of his past, especially of his daughter.

Two films of Fraser's — "The Poison Rose," with John Travolta and Morgan Freeman, and the Bollywood crime drama "Line of Descent" — were released in 2019.

He also played a wealthy futurist on the first season of the CW's "Professionals," which aired in 2022. Unfortunately for Fraser, critics weren't huge fans of "The Poison Rose," but the actor was praised by some for his efforts on "Professionals."

Featuring an ensemble cast of Fraser, Don Cheadle, David Harbour, Benicio del Toro, Kieran Culkin, and Julia Fox, Soderbergh's gangster period film garnered positive reviews upon its release.

The film follows a group of small-time criminals sent to steal an important document together, only for the job to go terribly awry. Fraser and Cheadle had previously worked together on the 2004 drama "Crash."

Fraser was supposed to play the villain Firefly in the now-axed superhero film, which also would have featured J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl), and Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman.

Grace praised Fraser in an April 2022 interview with Variety, calling him "a huge teddy bear" and "one of the nicest people that I've ever met."

Unfortunately for the "Batgirl" actors, news broke in August 2022 that Warner Bros. had shelved "Batgirl" and would be nixing plans for a streaming or theatrical release, even though the film was already in the final stages of post-production.

According to sources quoted in Deadline, the film was shelved due to budgeting concerns.

Despite several tough situations over the years, Fraser seems poised to enter a new era of his career with his work in "The Whale."

Directed by filmmaker Aronofsky, and also starring Sadie Sink and Hong Chau, "The Whale" stars Fraser as a reclusive, ailing English teacher named Charlie living with severe obesity. While facing his imminent death, Charlie becomes determined to make amends with his daughter (Sink), no matter the cost.

Fraser is already receiving critical acclaim for his role as Charlie, and is expected to receive numerous nominations at upcoming awards shows as well. The actor has already been nominated for a Golden Globe, but he previously said he wouldn't be attending the awards ceremony in 2023 due to his "history" with the HFPA, which puts on the Globes each year.

When reached for comment, a representative for the Golden Globes and the HFPA pointed Insider to a recent interview HFPA president Helene Hoehne did with the Hollywood Reporter, where Hoehne said she'd been "in touch" with Fraser's team and had "respect" for his decision.

Fraser also has several projects on the horizon, including "Killers of the Flower Moon," a period drama directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Fraser, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro.