Brendan Fraser was born December 3, 1968. The first major movie he was pictured in was “Airheads,” a film about three aspiring rock musicians who are thrown for a loop when they take a fake threat too far. Fraser’s first big box office hit wasn’t until 1997, when he starred in “George of the Jungle.” He would then go on to play in “The Mummy” movie franchise, while also doing several indie projects. This stardom lasted for nearly two decades, when suddenly, it seemed as if Fraser was blacklisted from the entirety of Hollywood. 

Back in 2018, the internet was shocked to hear about the accusations Fraser had to say about ex-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Philip Berk. Fraser claimed that back in 2003, he was sexually groped by Berk during lunch in Beverly Hills. The impact of this assault resulted in Fraser having “emotional and personal distress.” In his interview with people.com, Fraser expressed that he had “played by the rules up until that point. And I felt like, okay, now, suddenly, I’ve been violated.” 

There were other struggles that Fraser faced as well. Due to extensive stunting for films in previous years, he acquired several physical injuries that required surgery. This included a Laminectomy, partial knee replacement, and vocal cord surgery. These medical procedures had a time span of seven years. 

Now, Fraser has found himself back in the spotlight starring in his new multi-award winning movie “The Whale.” This film is about an extremely unhealthy English teacher who has secluded himself away in his apartment. While he is near death due to his unhealthy eating habits, the teacher desperately tries to mend the broken relationship he has with his teenage daughter, who’s played by young Hollywood star Sadie Sink. 

This past Sunday, the 2023 Oscars took place, and Fraser was in attendance for his category nomination of best actor. The nominees that Fraser was in the category with were Austin Butler for “Elvis,” Colin Ferrell for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Paul Mescal for “Aftersun,” and Bill Nighy for “Living.” It was so heartwarming to see The Academy recognize Fraser who had not been in the spotlight for so long, and then to win the Oscar was even more gratifying to experience. 

When Fraser accepted his award the audience was humored with his statement of “So this is what the multiverse looks like!” adding a thanks to the writer, Samuel Hunter, and director, Darren Aronofsky, expressing “You laid your whale-sized hearts bare so we could see into your souls.” Many people on social media think that Austin Butler was robbed, and although he had an amazing performance, you can’t deny Fraser was any less deserving.