What Happened to Brendan Fraser? Inside His Life Before, During and After Fame (Plus, His Epic Comeback!)

Memorable Roles

Brendan starred in several films before making a mark as the lead character in 1997’s George of the Jungle. It was one of his first successful films at the box office, grossing over $174 million worldwide, per IMDb. 

In 1999, his box office success continued with the first installment of The Mummy trilogy. In the film, Brendan played Rick O’Connell, a role he has become synonymous with. In 2001, he reprised the role in The Mummy Returns and later, the 2008 installment The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The trilogy was so popular that a roller coaster was built at Universal Studios based on the films in their Hollywood and Florida theme parks. 

Movies weren’t the only medium that Brendan conquered at the height of his fame. The Saturday Night Live host snagged a recurring arc on Scrubs from 2002 to 2004 and voiced characters in The Simpsons and The Fairly OddParents. 

Taking a Break From Acting

In the mid-2000s, Brendan’s focus shifted from scoring top acting roles to prioritizing his health and well-being. In a 2018 interview with GQ, the star shared that filming The Mummy took a “destructive” toll on his body. 

“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,” he said. “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.” 

Brendan underwent a laminectomy and had to have the surgery done again a year later. He also underwent a partial knee replacement, several other procedures on his back and had his vocal cords repaired, all within a seven-year span. 

Though he did not appear in any major blockbuster films during that time, he still took a few roles here and there as he dealt with his injuries. In 2015, he starred in Texas Rising, a miniseries on the History Channel about the Texas Revolution.

Marriage and Parenthood 

Outside of Hollywood, Brendan fell in love with Afton Smith. She is also an actress who earned several credits beginning in the late ‘80s through the early 2000s. The New York native appeared in George of the Jungle alongside the Saturn Award nominee in 1997. The pair had actually met and began dating four years earlier. They got married in 1998. 

The duo welcomed their first child together, son Griffin Arthur Fraser, in 2002. Their second son, Holden Fletcher Fraser, was born in 2004. Their youngest son, Leland Francis Fraser, was born in 2006. In 2007, Brendan and Afton announced that they were getting a divorce. 

Nine years after his marriage came to an end, Brendan snagged a recurring role in The Affair, a widely popular showtime drama. He began doing press for the series, starting with a now-viral appearance on AOL’s BUILD YouTube channel. The Journey to the End of the Night star became an internet meme for his “sad” demeanor. What viewers and fans didn’t know at the time was that his mom, Carol, lost her battle with cancer a few days before the interview took place.

“I buried my mom,” he told GQ. “I think I was in mourning, and I didn’t know what that meant.”

Return to Blockbuster Films 

In 2021, with the internet rallying behind him, it was announced that Brendan had been cast in Killers of the Flower Moon. The Western crime drama produced and directed by Martin Scorsese also stars Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jesse Plemons.

He later joined the cast of the DC Comics film Batgirl as the supervillain Firefly. The movie officially wrapped shooting in March 2022. Brendan has continued to rise up the ranks in Hollywood once more with the lead role in the 2022 Darren Aronofsky-directed drama The Whale. The film icon was later added to the cast of Brothers, an upcoming comedy starring Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage. 

Longtime fans are elated to see that Brendan is back in what they have deemed the “Brenaissance,” his big return to Hollywood blockbuster films.

Epic Comeback

On September 4, 2022, Brendan was met with a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival’s premiere of The Whale. He broke down in tears after the audience was blown away by his portrayal of Charlie, a 600-pound man abandoned by his lover. The role required Brendan to wear a prosthetic suit to transform into the character completely.

The longtime actor described what it was like to undergo a dramatic makeover each time he stepped onto the set of the drama film. 

“I developed muscles I did not know I had,” he explained at a press conference ahead of the premiere. “I even felt a sense of vertigo at the end of the day when all the appliances were removed; it was like stepping off the dock onto a boat in Venice. That [sense of] undulating. It gave me appreciation for those whose bodies are similar. You need to be an incredibly strong person, mentally and physically, to inhabit that physical being.”

Social media flooded with videos of Brendan’s big moment at the premiere. Fans could not help but express their pride for the star and his career resurgence. The Indiana native even got a shout-out from friend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. 

“Man, this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan,” the former WWE star wrote on Twitter. “He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career. Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky.”

Brendan has since been nominated for a 2023 Golden Globes Awards for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Drama in The Whale.