The first thing you would probably notice about Brendan Fraser is his tall frame, fair skin and distinctive good looks. No wonder then that he was put on People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” list in 1998.
Fraser was born on 3 December, 1968, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Canadian-American parents. Through his childhood and youth, he lived a nomadic life, which took him and his three brothers to various places around Europe, Canada and the USA. Initially he studied at the Upper Canada College in Toronto, but the acting bug caught him when he went to watch his first theatrical performance in London. This led him to the Cornish College of Arts in Seattle where he graduated in 1990.
Fraser decided to move to Los Angeles and soon co-starred with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris O’Donnel in School Ties (1992), and Adam Sandler in the comedy Airheads (1994). His first lead film role came in Encino Man (1992), but he continued to play mainly supporting roles. His breakthrough came in his first hit comedy George of the Jungle (1997). He continued the trend by doing films such as Blast from the Past (1999), Dudley Do-Right (1999), Bedazzled (2000), and Monkeybone (2001).
Pitting his wits against the exasperating and lovely Rachel Weisz in the action film The Mummy (1999), Fraser had his first commercial hit. A couple of years later he starred in the sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001). Both the films not only showcased Fraser as an action hero but also proved his popularity at the box office. In 2004 he starred with Sandra Bullock in Crash, which won an Academy Award for Best Film. His most critically acclaimed film, Gods and Monsters (1998), saw Fraser play one of his most intense roles.
Fraser left his Hollywood success behind in 2001 to return to theatre in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which won him several rave reviews.
Fraser met Afton Smith at a fellow actor’s home and married her in 1998. They had three children together before separating in 2007. His interests, apart from film and theatre, include photography. He is also ambidextrous and speaks French fluently.
Fraser has taken his overwhelming success with humility and still has a deep respect for theatre, which he considers to be the root of all acting. He once remarked, “As a young man, I prayed for success. Now I pray just to be worthy of it.”
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