Brendan Fraser’s future seems bright after a public divorce in 2007 and a lengthy absence from Hollywood. The former A-lister has struggled for decades, and he has reached rock bottom. Fraser now intends to turn his hardships into a comeback worthy of a ’90s blockbuster, thanks to a role in an upcoming Martin Scorsese film and an outpouring of fan support.
Afton Smith and Brendan Fraser met at Winona Ryder’s BBQ. Fraser began dating fellow actor Afton Smith shortly after meeting her at Winona Ryder’s house in 1993, according to Your Next Shoes. At the time, the Indiana native was a budding Hollywood star. According to IMDb, he’d only starred in a few films, including Encino Man and School Ties.
Fraser was one of Hollywood’s most bankable lead actors by the time he married Smith in 1998. Smith even had a little part in George of the Jungle, which premiered the summer before their wedding and was Fraser’s first major smash. Fraser’s Hollywood fortune began with the release of The Mummy in 1999. His standing as an action superstar was reinforced by two sequels.
With Fraser seemingly on top of the world, Smith chose George of the Jungle as her final acknowledged role. During their nine-year marriage, the couple had three sons.
Fraser’s Career Encounters A Snag Prior To His Divorce In 2007
Fraser’s fortunes began to improve in the early 2000s. Fraser was at the pinnacle of his career when he co-starred in The Mummy Returns with Dwayne Johnson. He sensed Johnson’s star power right away. Despite his little role, Johnson received nearly as much attention as Fraser during the post-production press tour. Fraser’s attitude to Johnson now appears to be a bad sign for two diverging careers.
Fraser’s career reached a roadblock just two years after The Mummy Returns. Fraser accused former Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Philip Berk of sexual abuse in 2003. He eventually requested an apology from Berk. Speaking out against such a strong Hollywood insider, on the other hand, backfired. Fraser feels the charge is directly related to the decreasing number of job offers he received in the years that followed. Many in Hollywood thought him to be unofficially blackballed.
Fraser And Smith’s Acrimonious Divorce And Child Custody Arrangement
Fraser and Smith divorced in 2007 as his acting career waned. Unfortunately for Fraser, the trouble was just getting started. According to the Huffington Post, he tried to negotiate a reduction in the $900,000 in annual alimony and child support he agreed to pay, telling Smith at one time that he wasn’t earning millions like he did at the height of his celebrity.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Smith responded in a court petition that Fraser was hiding assets. Finally, Fraser may cut his alimony only if he began earning less than $3 million per year. He is worth $20 million as of 2022. To make matters worse, Fraser had to have many surgeries, including ones on his vocal cords, back, and knee. Many of them resulted from his own stunt work.
While Smith’s charges were ultimately dismissed, Fraser’s reputation suffered yet another blow. For many years, he received only minor film and television roles. Fraser starred in the box-office flop Furry Vengeance a year after the divorce was finalized, which reviewers pulled apart and accused of having racist connotations.
Brendan Fraser is making a tremendous comeback. After a string of setbacks, Fraser appears to be on the mend. Fraser’s recent collaborations with top-tier directors read like a who’s who of Hollywood. Fraser collaborated with Steven Soderbergh on the current historical crime thriller No Sudden Move. Martin Scorsese and Darren Aronofsky have both cast him in films. Fraser is also due to participate in the DC Universe’s Batgirl and has just finished filming Brothers with Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin.
But it’s Scorsese’s thriller Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jesse Plemons, and Robert De Niro, that might really propel Fraser back to the top. Based on a true incident, the film is set in the 1920s and follows an FBI investigation into the murders of members of the Osage people, an Oklahoma-based tribe who discovered significant oil resources on their property. Killers of the Flower Moon, according to Slash Film, could visit theatres this November, while no official release date has been announced.
As he returns to more significant parts, Fraser has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from fans. Fraser’s steady resurgence has even been labeled a “Brenaissance,” and with his star on the upswing, he has expressed interest in returning to The Mummy franchise. While a tough divorce and other setbacks nearly destroyed Fraser’s bright career, he appears to be on track for an exciting second act.