THE BEST OF BRENDAN FRASER
- 1 hour ago
- 7 min read
Brendan Fraser has been making movies for over 30 years now (actually closer to 35) and what a fascinating career it’s been. He’s had huge highs, painful lows, long stretches where he disappeared completely, and then a comeback so inspiring that people literally cried watching it happen.
He’s done slapstick, broad comedy, serious drama, adventure blockbusters, indies, and even superhero television. He’s been the goofy, likable leading man, the heartthrob, the action hero, and now, the Oscar-winning serious actor who’s somehow more beloved than ever.
He was born in Indianapolis in 1968 to Canadian parents, moved around the world as a kid (California, Seattle, Ottawa, the Netherlands, Switzerland) and ended up graduating from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle before heading to Hollywood in 1990. Within a couple of years, he was everywhere.
His first real breakout came in 1992 with Encino Man, where he played a thawed-out caveman trying to survive modern high school life, and he was genuinely hilarious.
That same year, he showed he could actually act with School Ties, where he played a Jewish kid facing antisemitism at a prep school. Two totally different movies in one year, and he nailed both.
That set the tone for his career, he's the guy who could go from ridiculous to heartfelt in the span of a single scene. He was in goofy comedies like Airheads and George of the Jungle, but also serious films like Gods and Monsters and The Quiet American.
Then came The Mummy in 1999, and that changed everything. He became a full-blown movie star. Big box office, action-adventure swagger, and that old-school Errol Flynn charm. He was Indiana Jones for a new generation.
But what’s always made Brendan Fraser special is his sincerity. He’s one of the most genuinely likable actors to ever hit the screen. He’s got that rare thing, which is a total lack of cynicism.
Even when the movie’s ridiculous (Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle, Furry Vengeance... and yeah, those are all pretty ridiculous), you still root for him. He’s all-in every time. He commits. Whether he’s running from mummies, making dumb faces, or baring his soul in a dark drama, he always feels real.
And then came the crash.
His career slowed down after the mid-2000s. There were personal issues, health problems, surgeries from all the stunt work, and that awful, traumatic incident with the head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that sent him into a deep depression.
The phone stopped ringing. Hollywood moved on. For a long time, he was gone, both physically and emotionally. It was rough to watch because everyone who liked him (and that’s basically everyone) knew what a good guy he was and how much he deserved better.
And then came The Brennaissance.
Starting with Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move in 2021, people started to notice again. He was older, softer, and heavier, but also wiser, funnier, and more soulful.
Then Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale hit in 2022, and that was it. The comeback of all comebacks. The performance was devastating and beautiful, and he won the Oscar for Best Actor... the first Canadian to ever do it.
That standing ovation, his emotional acceptance speech, that was more than just a Hollywood moment. It was justice. It was catharsis.
Now he’s working again, with Scorsese, with Soderbergh, with great directors who know what he can do. He’s not the hunky, shirtless adventurer anymore. He’s something better, he is a fully formed, deeply human actor who’s found his truth.
He’s warm, funny, empathetic, and real in every sense. When you watch him now, you see all the pain, all the joy, all the life he’s lived. And you can’t help but love the guy.
Personally, I’ve always liked Brendan Fraser. Even during his “goofy George of the Jungle” phase, there was something there, there was a genuine warmth and intelligence behind the silliness.
He’s a terrific physical comedian, he can sell absurdity with total conviction, and when given the right material, he’s capable of real greatness.
The Whale proves that, but you could see glimpses of it decades earlier, in Gods and Monsters, in The Quiet American, even in the emotional undercurrent of The Mummy movies.
He’s also just a good person. Watch any interview... he’s humble, kind, and clearly grateful. He’s not jaded. He’s one of those guys you want to root for.
When he’s on talk shows, he’s charming and self-effacing, always giving credit to everyone else. He’s not trying to be cool, he’s just Brendan Fraser. And that’s enough.
So, with his new movie Rental Family in theaters (and another great performance to add to the comeback) I thought it was the perfect time to look back on his incredible career and pick my 10 favorite Brendan Fraser movies and performances.
These are not ranked by preference, they’re listed in chronological order. Some are comedies, some are dramas, some are blockbusters, some are smaller, personal films. But all of them show what makes Brendan Fraser such a unique and enduring actor.
So, without further ado, here they are:
MY 10 FAVORITE BRENDAN FRASER MOVIES (in chronological order):
This is where it all began... the birth of Brendan Fraser on the big screen. A frozen caveman thawed out in ’90s California could’ve been a disaster, but Fraser made it gold. He’s hilarious, physical, expressive, and surprisingly sweet. It’s a dumb movie that totally works because of him.
Without his wide-eyed innocence and total commitment, this would’ve been Pauly Shore: The Movie. Instead, it became a cult comedy classic that introduced us to a star.
This one’s a weird, overlooked little gem directed by Percy Adlon (of Bagdad Café fame), and it’s one of Fraser’s earliest examples of being more than just a goofball.
He plays a young writer haunted by the ghost of his dead mother, and it’s part comedy, part surreal fantasy, part melancholy dream.
It didn’t get much attention, but you can already see the sensitivity he’d later bring to his dramatic roles. It’s like watching a young actor quietly sharpening his tools while Hollywood wasn’t looking.
A criminally underrated rock ‘n’ roll comedy that’s basically Dog Day Afternoon if the bank robbers were idiots in a hair-metal band. Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler play wannabe rockers who hijack a radio station... and it’s hilarious.
Fraser nails the blend of dumb and charming, and his chemistry with Buscemi and Sandler is fantastic. This movie should’ve been a much bigger hit, and it’s still one of his most purely fun performances.
A career-changing role. Fraser goes toe-to-toe with Ian McKellen in one of the great films of the ’90s, it is a quiet, heartbreaking story about friendship, loneliness, and fading glory. Fraser plays a young gardener who forms an unlikely bond with the aging director of Frankenstein.
It’s beautifully acted, and Fraser is both physically commanding and emotionally vulnerable, which is a mix that would define his best work. This was the first time critics really took him seriously, and rightfully so.
The movie that made him a star. Fraser as Rick O’Connell is pure movie magic, he's funny, brave, and effortlessly charismatic. This is the perfect blend of action, adventure, and old-school Hollywood charm.
He’s like if Indiana Jones and Errol Flynn had a baby. The Mummy still holds up, it’s fast, fun, and driven entirely by Fraser’s energy and timing. He’s one of the last great practical-action heroes before CGI took over everything.
This movie is insane, and I love it. Directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), it’s a demented mix of live-action and stop-motion about a cartoonist trapped in his own imagination.
The studio mangled it, but Fraser’s performance is absolutely fearless. He plays multiple versions of himself, dives into twisted fantasy, and somehow makes it all work. It’s dark, weird, and totally ahead of its time. I’ll defend Monkeybone forever... it’s pure cult brilliance.
This is one of his most mature, understated performances, and it's opposite Michael Caine, no less. It’s a smart, slow-burn political thriller set in 1950s Vietnam, and Fraser plays it with subtlety and intelligence.
You can feel him consciously moving away from broad comedy here, while proving that he could hold his own in serious, adult storytelling. It’s one of those performances that reminds you how much range he really has.
This movie gets unfairly dismissed, but it’s a total blast. Joe Dante made it with genuine love for classic animation, and Fraser completely leans into the chaos.
He plays a goofy stuntman/hero who interacts with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and he’s game for everything. It’s the perfect combination of his physical comedy chops and his ability to sell absurdity with a straight face. It’s like watching a live-action cartoon, and Fraser fits right in.
The start of The Brennaissance. Steven Soderbergh cast Fraser as a shady middleman in this twisty period crime thriller, and he brought something totally new: a grizzled presence, a weary intelligence, and a touch of melancholy.
He’s heavier, older, quieter... and better. It’s not a huge role, but it reminded everyone how good he can be when given the right material. Watching him here felt like seeing an old friend again, one you didn’t realize you’d missed so much.
This is it: the performance of his life. Darren Aronofsky’s film is brutal, heartbreaking, and deeply human, and Fraser gives everything he has to it. As Charlie, an obese, reclusive English teacher struggling with guilt and love, he delivers one of the most raw, emotional performances I’ve ever seen.
It’s not just acting... it’s confession. It’s redemption. He earned that Oscar, every single second of it. Watching him finally get the respect he deserved after decades in the business was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in Hollywood.
There you go, ten Brendan Fraser performances that tell the story of a full career: the goofy early days, the blockbuster years, the quiet detour into serious drama, and the triumphant, deeply emotional comeback.
He’s one of the most likable, genuine, and consistently watchable actors of his generation, and his journey from Encino Man to The Whale is one of the best Hollywood stories ever told.
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