Brendan James Fraser (
/ˈfreɪzər/ FRAY-zər; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor known for his leading roles in blockbusters, comedies, and dramatic films. Having graduated from the
Cornish College of the Arts in 1990, he made his film debut in
Dogfight (1991).
Fraser had his breakthrough in 1992 with the comedy
Encino Man and the drama
School Ties. He gained further prominence for his starring role in
George of the Jungle (1997) and emerged a star playing
Rick O'Connell in
The Mummy trilogy (1999–2008). He took on dramatic roles in
Gods and Monsters (1998),
The Quiet American (2002), and
Crash (2004), and further fantasy roles in
Bedazzled (2000) and
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008).
Fraser's film work slowed from the late 2000s to mid 2010s amid various health problems, personal losses, and fallout from a
sexual assault allegedly committed against him in 2003 by
Philip Berk, the then-president of the
Hollywood Foreign Press Association. He branched into television with roles in the
History miniseries
Texas Rising (2015), the
Showtime drama
The Affair (2016–2017), the
FX series
Trust (2018), and the
HBO Max-
DC Universe series
Doom Patrol (2019–present). Fraser's film career was revitalized by appearances in major
auteur-directed films such as
Steven Soderbergh's
No Sudden Move (2021) and
Darren Aronofsky's
The Whale (2022); his starring role in the latter gained him a
Critics' Choice Movie Award, a
Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination of
Golden Globe Award,
BAFTA Film Award and
Academy Award for Best Actor.
