During the 90s and early 2000s, Brendan Fraser seemed to be everywhere. He starred in George of the Jungle, led the successful The Mummy franchise, and became one of Hollywood’s most beloved faces. But behind the scenes, his body was paying the price for so many action sequences: he spent years in and out of hospitals, underwent several surgeries, and also faced a difficult divorce and the death of his mother.
He also revealed that in 2003 he suffered a sexual assault at the hands of a then-senior official of the organization behind the Golden Globes, an episode that emotionally devastated him and made him wonder whether it had also harmed his career. For years, he remained far from major productions, until The Whale gave him the role that changed his story once again.
In 2023, Brendan Fraser returned to Hollywood’s most important stage to receive the Oscar for Best Actor, in tears and to an ovation that celebrated much more than a film.