Brendan Fraser, star of George of the Jungle and The Mummy, looked completely different during a rare public appearance in New York.

Fraser, 52, walked the red carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival last week for the debut of No Sudden Move. The Mummy star wore a black suit, a blue shirt, and a patterned navy tie.

Brendan is known for his role in The Mummy Credit: Rex

Naturally, Fraser does not look the same as he did in his 1997 blockbuster “George of the Jungle” and his larger size has been a matter of discussion.

Social media speculated that his weight gain was related to his upcoming film, “The Whale,” directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Fans remarked on how much they missed seeing the 52-year-old actor on the big screen.

“I miss Brendan Fraser,” one fan posted in support of the actor.

“As a 90s teen, I have a serious soft spot for Brendan Phrase. I hope he’s healthy and happy,” wrote another.

“I am so ready for this man to rise from the ashes like a glorious fat phoenix and take the world by storm again,” another fan commented. Another said, “I just wanna say I love Brendan Fraser. Glad to see him back in films. He is a King in my book! #BrendanFraser,” referring to his well-known performance in George of the Jungle.

More comments:

“2021 Brendan Fraser is without a doubt my favourite Brendan Fraser.”

“Fell in love with him in The Mummy, and I’ll always love him.”

The actor looks dramatically different to his previous roles
Credit: Rex

No Sudden Move, set in 1954, tells the story of a bunch of criminals who band together to do a basic task that quickly gets complicated.

Brendan portrays 600lb Charlie, who lives in a Mormon region of Idaho in The Whale.

In the film, his character is trying to re-establish contact with his estranged 17-year-old daughter, from whom he became alienated after coming out as homosexual. His anguish over the loss of his partner causes him to develop a compulsive eating disorder.

Brendan Fraser looked dramatically different at a film premiere in NYC
Credit: AP

Why his career went downhill

Between the 1990s and the 2000s, Brendan Fraser was a regular lead actor on the big screen. The Mummy star discussed the reasons behind his waning career in a recent interview with GQ.

The actor was afflicted by injuries as a result of his extensive stunt work. He endured many procedures, including a laminectomy, a lumbar fusion that didn’t work and had to be redone, a partial knee replacement, and even repairs to his voice chords. The actor said he was in and out of hospitals for about seven years.

He notes that during the course of 10 years: “I changed houses; I went through a divorce. Some kids were born. I mean, they were born, but they’re growing up. I was going through things that mould and shape you in ways that you’re not ready for until you go through them.”

Sexual assault

Fraser stated in 2018 that he was “blacklisted” by Hollywood. Fraser claimed in an interview with GQ that a previous head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association sexually abused him.

Fraser alleged that in 2003, HFPA’s Philip Berk assaulted him at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Fraser allegedly fell into a deep depression as a result of this alleged occurrence.

“His left-hand reaches around grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around,” the actor said. “I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry.”

In an email to GQ, Berk refuted the accusation, writing, “Mr Fraser’s version is a total fabrication.”

Following the incident, Fraser claimed he was seldom invited to the Golden Globes, which are hosted by the HFPA.

“I don’t know if this curried disfavour with the group, with the HFPA. But the silence was deafening,” Fraser said. “The phone does stop ringing in your career, and you start asking yourself why. There are many reasons, but was this one of them? I think it was.”

Fraser claimed that the incident caused him to withdraw from public life.

More reasons

Losing out on the part of Superman, which finally went to Brandon Routh in Superman Returns, also had a big emotional impact on him, making him feel like he “didn’t measure up” and had “failed.” He claims that he eventually vanished because he “bought into the pressure that comes with the hopes and aims that come with a professional life that’s being molded, shaped, guided, and managed.”

“That requires what they call thick skin, or just ignoring it, putting your head in the sand, or gnashing your teeth and putting on your public face, or just not even…needing the public. Ignoring. Staying home, damn it. You know, not ’cause I’m aloof or anything, but because I just felt I couldn’t be a part of it. I didn’t feel that I belonged,” he says.