Hollywood loves a good comeback story and the most talked about comeback of the year has, undoubtedly, been that of Brendan Fraser. The star of acclaimed classics like Gods and Monsters and box office hits like 1999’s The Mummy — a franchise he would “absolutely” return to — seemed to have a bit of career stand-still in more recent years, with voicing Robotman on Doom Patrol being among his bigger roles.
However, that would all change very recently when his transformative performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale earned him rave reviews and awards buzz before receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. Celebrate this landmark moment in Fraser’s career by looking back at some of his greatest hits on the big screen with the slideshow below.
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Brendan Fraser as Sailor #1 in Dogfight 1991 (Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Brendan Fraser in Encino Man being groomed by Sean Astin and Pauly Shore 1992 (Image credit: Archive Photos / Stringer/ Getty Images)
Brendan Fraser as David Greene in School Ties 1992 (Image credit: United Archives / Contributor/ Getty Images)
Brendan Fraser as Sam Mastrewski in Twenty Bucks 1993 (Image credit: Triton Pictures)
Brendan Fraser as Winston Younger in Younger and Younger 1993 (Image credit: Ronald Siemoneit / Contributor/ Getty Images)
Brendan Fraser’s cameo in Son in Law 1993 (Image credit: Disney)
Brendan Fraser as Monty in With Honor 1994 (Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Brendan Fraser as Chazz in Airheads 1994 (Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox)
Brendan Fraser’s cameo in In The Army Now 1994, a nod to Encino Man. (Image credit: Disney)
Brendan Fraser as Steve Nebraska in The Scout 1994 (Image credit: Frank Trapper / Contributor/ Getty Images)
Breandan Fraser in The Passions of Darkly Noon (Image credit: Turner Home Entertainment)
Brenday Fraser as Doug in Glory Daze 1995 (Image credit: Seventh Art Releasing)
Brendan Fraser as a Vietnam Veteran in Now and Then 1995 (Image credit: New Line Cinema)
Brendan Fraser as Bill Winterbourne in Mrs. Winterbourne 1996 (Image credit: Archive Photos / Stringer/ Getty Images)
Brendan Fraser in The Twilights of the Golds 1996 (Image credit: Avalanche Home Entertainment)
Brendan Fraser as Fletcher McBracken in Still Breathing 1997 (Image credit: October Films)
Brendan Fraser in George of the Jungle 1997 (Image credit: Getty Images / Handout)
Brendan Fraser as Clayton Boone in Gods and Monsters 1998 (Image credit: Lionsgate)
Brendan Fraser as Brad in The Simpsons 1998 (Image credit: Fox)
Brendan Fraser as Adam in Blast From The Past 1999 (Image credit: New Line Cinema / Handout/ Getty Images)
Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell in The Mummy 1999 (Image credit: Frank Trapper / Contributor)
Brendan Fraser in Dudley Do-Right 1999 (Image credit: Universal Pictures)
Brendan Fraser as Sinbad in Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists 2000 (Image credit: Phaedra Cinema)
Brendan Fraser as Elliot in Bedazzled 2000 (Image credit: Getty Images / Stringer)
Brendan Fraser as Stu Miley in Monkeybone 2000 (Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox)
Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell in The Mummy Returns 2001 (Image credit: Getty Images / Handout)
Brendan Fraser during The Quiet American Screening at Harmony Gold in Hollywood, CA (Image credit: L. Cohen / Contributor)
Brendan Fraser’s cameo in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star 2003 (Image credit: Paramount Pictures)
Brendan Fraser attends premiere of his film Looney Tunes: Back In Action in Hollywood, California 2003 (Image credit: Carlo Allegri / Staff)
Brendan Fraser as Ben in Scrubs 2004 (Image credit: NBC)
Brendan fraser and Arnold Vosloo on Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride for which Brendan voiced 2004 (Image credit: Frazer Harrison / Staff)
Brendan Fraser as Rick in Crash 2004 (Image credit: Lionsgate)
Brendan Fraser voices Irv Bennett in King of the Hill 2004 (Image credit: Fox)
Brendan Fraser as Paul in Journey to the End of the Night 2006 (Image credit: Millennium Films, Inc.)
(Image credit: Element Films)
Brendan Fraser in The Air I Breathe (Image credit: THINKFilm)
Brendan Fraser attends Journey to the Center of the Earth premiere in Westwood, California 2008 (Image credit: Michael Buckner / Staff)
Brendan Fraser attends The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor press conference in Beverly Hills, California 2008 (Image credit: Vera Anderson / Contributor)
Brendan Fraser as Mo in Inkheart 2008 (Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Brendan fraser as Turbo Thunder in Fairly Odd Parents 2009 (Image credit: Nickelodeon)
Brendan Fraser at a special advance screening of Extraordinary Measures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2010 (Image credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo / Contributor)
Brendan Fraser at the premiere for Furry Vengeance 2010 in Westwood, California (Image credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Staff)
Brendan Fraser as Joe Maguire in Stand Off 2011 (Image credit: Roadshow Home Entertainment)
Brendan Fraser voices Scorch Supernova in Escape from Planet Earth 2012 (Image credit: The Weinstein Company)
Brendan Fraser as Tony in A Case of You 2013 (Image credit: IFC Films)
Brendan Fraser as Leo in Hair Brained 2013 (Image credit: Love Lane Pictures)
Brendan Fraser as Ricky in Pawn Shop Chronicles 2013 (Image credit: Anchor Bay Films)
Brendan Fraser in Breakout 2013 (Image credit: Sony)
Brendan Fraser attends The Cinema Society’s screening of Gimme Shelter in New York City 2014 (Image credit: Stephen Lovekin / Contributor)
Grayson voiced by Brendan Fraser in The Nut Job 2014 (Image credit: Open Road Films (II))
Brendan Fraser attends Texas Honor’s event celebrating the release of history miniseries Texas Rising 2015 in San Antonio, TX (Image credit: Isaac Brekken / Stringer)
Brendan Fraser attends AOL Build to discuss his role in The Affair 2016 (Image credit: Daniel Zuchnik / Contributor)
Brendan Fraser’s cameo in Nightcap 2017 (Image credit: Pop)
Brendan Fraser attends premiere for Condor In Los Angeles, CA 2018 (Image credit: Gabriel Olsen / Stringer)
Brendan Fraser attends the For Your Consideration Event for Trust 2018 in North Hollywood, CA (Image credit: Phillip Faraone / Stringer)
Brenda Fraser at the world premiere of Titan 2018 in New York City (Image credit: Dave Kotinsky / Stringer)
Brendan Fraser as Dr. Miles Mitchell in The Poison Rose 2019 (Image credit: Lionsgate)
Brendan Fraser in Line of Descent 2019 (Image credit: Zee5)
Brendan Fraser in The Secret of Karma 2020 (Image credit: Unknown)
Brendan Fraser as Doug Jones in No Sudden Move 2021 (Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele in Doom Patrol (Image credit: DC Universe/ HBO Max)
Brendan Fraser in The Whale 2022 (Image credit: A24)