Why did Brendan Fraser leave Hollywood?

February 24, 2024

Brendan Fraser is known for starring in the action films The Mummy and its sequels, as well as 2022’s The Whale, for which he won an Oscar. But in the early 2000s, his career suffered for a heartbreaking reason that left him “frightened.“

In 2018, Brendan Fraser spoke out about an alleged assault that took place in 2003 at a Hollywood Foreign Press Association luncheon. He said that, although there were “many reasons” for his career declining, he believed that the assault was one of them.

Brendan Fraser speaks about one of his reasons for leaving Hollywood

In a 2018 interview with GQ, the 54-year-old recounted allegedly being groped by then-president of the HFPA and journalist Philip Berk – something which Berk has denied.

“I felt ill,” Fraser said. “I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry.” He told his then-wife Afton Smith about the incident, but didn’t speak up due to being “frightened” and not wanting it to become “a part of my narrative.”

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association was a nonprofit organization that, among other things, voted for those in Hollywood to receive Golden Globe awards.

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“I don’t know if this curried disfavor with the group, with the HFPA. But the silence was deafening. Do I feel like I need to say something? Absolutely. Have I wanted to many, many times? Absolutely. Have I stopped myself? Absolutely,” Fraser said.

He told GQ that he had only been invited to the Golden Globes several times since 2003 and added: “I felt like someone had thrown invisible paint on me.”

He told the publication that he became “depressed.”

“I was blaming myself and I was miserable. It made me retreat. It made me feel reclusive.”

Fraser also said that he was told by the HFPA that they would make sure he was never in a room with Berk again.

Asked in a TV interview with CBS Mornings, while promoting The Whale, if his speaking up had “derailed everything,” Fraser replied: “Well, yes, because there’s a system in place that is about power. And I had played by the rules up until that point. And I felt like, okay, now, suddenly, I’ve been violated. And it has gone too far. And I will no longer abide this.”

Berk and the HFPA make statements

Berk, who has since been removed from the HFPA for comments he made which were deemed racist about the Black Lives Matter movement, has denied the allegations and said that Fraser’s account was “a total fabrication.”

However, he acknowledged that he had sent an apology letter to the celebrity but said: “My apology admitted no wrongdoing, the usual ‘If I’ve done anything that upset Mr. Fraser, it was not intended and I apologize.”

Berk further said about Fraser being ‘blacklisted’ from Hollywood: “His [Fraser’s] career declined through no fault of ours.”

In his 2014 memoir With Signs and Wonders: My Journey from Darkest Africa to the Bright Lights of Hollywood, he spoke about the incident and said that he “pinched” Fraser’s bottom in “jest.”

The HFPA said in a statement: “The HFPA stands firmly against sexual harassment and the type of behavior described in this article. Over the years we’ve continued a positive working relationship with Brendan, which includes announcing Golden Globe nominees, attending the ceremony and participating in press conferences.

“This report includes alleged information that the HFPA was previously unaware of and at this time we are investigating further details surrounding the incident.”

Brendan Fraser’s health issues

Fraser said that filming movies took a toll on his body. He said that, when filming the third Mummy movie in 2008, he ended up needing a laminectomy, which he had to have done twice as the first time didn’t work. A laminectomy is when a part of the vertebral is removed to ease pressure on the spinal cord.

“I believe I probably was trying too hard, in a way that’s destructive,” Fraser said in the same GQ interview. “By the time I did the third Mummy picture in China. I was put together with tape and ice—just, like, really nerdy and fetishy about ice packs. Screw-cap ice packs and downhill-mountain-biking pads, ’cause they’re small and light and they can fit under your clothes. I was building an exoskeleton for myself daily.

“I needed a laminectomy. And the lumbar didn’t take, so they had to do it again a year later.”

He had other work done on his back too, as well as a knee operation and the repairing of his vocal chords.

“I don’t know if I’ve been sent to the glue factory, but I’ve felt like I’ve had to rebuild sh*t that I’ve built that got knocked down and do it again for the good of everyone. Whether it hurts you or not.”

If you have been affected by this story, you can contact the Rape Crisis team. Call 0808 802 9999 for confidential emotional support, open 12pm-2.30pm, 7pm-9.30pm every day of the year. You can also contact Victim support on 08 08 16 89 111

If you have been affected by this story, you can contact the RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, National Sexual Hotline. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1 (800) 656-4673. You can also contact the Department of Defense Safe Helpline for Sexual Assault on 1 (877) 955-5247.

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