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At the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars 2023), Brendan Fraser owned the word “comeback” by winning the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role or Best Actor trophy for The Whale.
In his acceptance speech, a teary-eyed Fraser said:
“I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgment. It's like I've been on a diving expedition… I feel a bit light in the head. This is actually kind of heavy…One arm might be longer than the other by the end of the night.”
In the film, he plays the protagonist Charlie, a reclusive and morbidly obese English professor who wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter before he dies.
The method actor earned wide praise for his nuanced portrayal in the Darren Aronofsky directorial and secured various awards, the latest being the very important Oscars.
The Mummy series and Doom Patrol are some of Brendan Fraser’s best movies and TV shows
The nomination at the Oscars 2023 was the debut nod for Brendan Fraser and the thumping win proved once again that his skills are still a reliable asset to the team. Since his debut in 1991, Fraser has shown promise and his rise to fame happened within a short time.
His work trickled down in the late 2000s to mid-2010s owing to health issues and personal grief. Further, Fraser leveled s*xual assault charges against the then-chief of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Philip Berk, in 2003, which also contributed to his slow flow of projects.
But Fraser stayed around and after fleeting and major appearances across several films and TV shows, he was back for good. In that light, let’s celebrate some of Brendan Fraser’s movies and TV shows (in chronological order).
1) School Ties (1992)
School Ties is one of Fraser’s early films where he portrays the character of David Greene. Greene, a Jewish high school student, gets awarded an athletic scholarship to an elite school, but he has to hide his roots as his classmates are anti-Semitic.
The movie was a commercial failure, but Fraser and his co-stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck walked away with a lot of laurels. Listed as one of the best movies of Brendan Fraser on IMDb, it has a 6.9 rating on the platform.
Streaming options: Fubo, Paramount+, MGM+, Amazon, and DirecTV.
2) The Mummy series (1999, 2001, 2008)
When it comes to the top 10 Brendan Fraser movies, The Mummy series, or at least the first film, which was released in 1999, always holds the number one spot.
After all, his portrayal as the charming Rick O'Connell in The Mummy established Fraser in Hollywood. The financially rewarding movie franchise even spawned two direct sequels, spin-offs, a prequel that had its own installments, and a very disappointing 2017 reboot.
Streaming option: Hulu.
3) Bedazzled (2000)
One of Fraser’s light-hearted films, Bedazzled starred him opposite English actress and model Elizabeth Hurley. In the fantasy romcom, Hurley plays the Devil, while Fraser portrays a boring and friendless geek, Elliot Richards.
The Devil offers Richards seven wishes but asks for his soul in exchange. What happens next is the plot of this hilarious Harold Ramis directorial.
The movie might not be one of the sparkling stars in Fraser’s filmography, but his comedic sense of timing, aided by Hurley’s deft acting, makes Bedazzled an easy watch.
Streaming options: Apple TV+, Amazon, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft, and AMC on Demand, among others.
4) Extraordinary Measures (2010)
When it comes to the box office returns, Extraordinary Measures isn’t a Brendan Fraser movie that is ranked high. But the medical drama gave the Oscars 2023 Best Actor winner enough space to exhibit his talent and it shows.
Starring alongside legend Harrison Ford, Fraser plays John Crowley in the emotionally moving film. Crowley and his wife Aileen (Felicity star Keri Russell) are hapless parents who want to take a researcher’s (Ford) help to find a cure for their children's rare genetic disorder.
Streaming options: Paramount+, Paramount+ Amazon channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium channel, and Pluto TV.
5) Doom Patrol (TV series)
Doom Patrol, which is based on the DC Comics superhero team by the same name, has Fraser as Cliff Steele aka Robotman. He appeared on all four seasons of the HBO Max show and his portrayal was loved by fans.
He was also nominated for the Critics' Choice Super Award under the Best Actor in a Superhero Series category in 2022.
Honorable mention: Scrubs
In Scrubs, Fraser played the role of photographer and carpenter Ben Sullivan, diagnosed with leukemia.
Despite appearing in just three episodes of the Bill Lawrence-created show, Fraser’s enthusiastic and balanced execution and chemistry with John C won the hearts of audiences and critics alike.
Scrubs is available to stream on Apple TV+ and Hulu.
To watch Brendan Fraser’s award-winning performance in The Whale, readers can either buy or rent the film on platforms like Apple TV+, Amazon, DirecTV, Vudu, YouTube, and others.
