Most people are familiar with Brendan Fraser from his roles in blockbuster films. Fraser starred as the lead character Rick O’Connell in the original The Mummy trilogy from the 1990s through the early-2000s. According to Variety, the actor has said he is open to another film because he feels the Tom Cruise-led reboot from 2017 “was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie” and “The Mummy should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary.” Fraser is also known for playing the lead character George in the George of the Jungle movies, which also began in the 1990s. Ironically enough, according to People Magazine, Fraser apologized in 2022 for a George of the Jungle stunt that was filmed decades ago in a way that caused passersby to think someone was actually in danger.
Fraser’s return to the big screen in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale has inspired us to think about the actor’s more serious and unique side. Sometimes being known for less intense, more popular fare obscures an actor’s career and fails to showcase their versatility. Fraser is more than capable of taking on deeper, more complicated roles, from tragic turns in the star-studded School Ties to hefty roles with stars like Sir Ian McKellen in Gods and Monsters. Here are some of Brendan Fraser’s best dramatic movies, ranked.
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8 The Quiet American
Miramax Films
Fraser appears in The Quiet American, a 2002 adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel set in Saigon, Vietnam. Fraser provides a complex and nuanced portrayal of Alden Pyle, an undercover CIA agent seeking to influence politics in favor of American interests while acting as a doctor. He has wonderful chemistry once more with veteran British actor Michael Caine as the two compete for Phuong, a young Vietnamese woman. The political and romantic film showcases Fraser’s dramatic adaptability and marked a significant advancement in his career.
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7 Crash
Lionsgate
In Paul Haggis’ Crash, Fraser appeared among a star-studded cast that included Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, and Don Cheadle. The Best Picture-winner at the 2005 Academy Awards takes a disturbing look at racial tensions in Los Angeles. Fraser based his portrayal of District Attorney Rick Cabot on actual occurrences that happened to Haggis, including a carjacking that occurred on Wilshire Boulevard in 1991. The movie was a commercial triumph, earning a cool $101 million at the box office on just a $6.5 million budget, in addition to winning the industry’s highest award.
6 With Honors
Spring Creek Productions
Fraser decided to return to the realm of education in With Honors in order to advance his burgeoning career as Monty Kessler, a Harvard student who, together with his housemates, takes in an unhoused person (Joe Pesci). The movie is carried by the chemistry between Pesci and Fraser because of how different their upbringings are from one another. As a young college student attempting to relate to the wayward guy and a world he has never seen, Fraser offers an amazing dimension to the role.
5 No Sudden Move
Warner Bros. Pictures
Fraser made a comeback in Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move alongside yet another superb, massive ensemble cast after spending the greater part of a decade avoiding the spotlight. In this twisting adventure, Fraser plays Doug Jones, a shady recruiter who’s not scared to shake things up with a specific set of experienced crooks. It’s a harsh portrayal that you would anticipate from a movie directed by Soderbergh, the master of intense drama, and it was a well-received homecoming to the big screen.
4 Gods and Monsters
BBC Films
Gods and Monsters, a film about James Whale (Sir Ian McKellen), the filmmaker of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, is based on the 1995 Bill Condon novel Father of Frankenstein. It is set in the 1950s. The movie examines the strange and occasionally contentious bond between the elderly, gay Whale, who is on his last days, and his straight gardener, played by Fraser. Fraser more than maintains his own in a sequence of amusing and unsettling moments that examine the generational and sexual disparities between him and master actor McKellen.
3 Extraordinary Measures
Double Feature Films
In the suspenseful medical drama Extraordinary Measures, Fraser portrays John Crowley, the father of two small children who have a rare genetic condition that often kills them within the first ten years of life. He fully commits to Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford) to undergo an experimental treatment in the hopes that it may be created in time to save his children, giving possibly his most tender and moving performance. Despite the film’s unfavorable reception, earning only 53% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Fraser displayed impressive versatility and a talent for touching the audience’s hearts.
2 School Ties
Paramount Pictures
Fraser made a complete turn and jumped into the part of David Green in School Ties just after making his acting debut in the popular comedy Encino Man in 1992. Fraser portrays a prominent prep school kid whose star athlete position is jeopardized when an antisemitic element inside the school learns about his Jewish origins, performing among stars like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Chris O’Donnell. The movie was Fraser’s first opportunity to exercise his dramatic skills and tackle the extremely serious subject of racism, and it came very early in his career.
1 The Whale
Protozoa Pictures
In the upcoming movie The Whale, Brendan Fraser plays a 600-pound man who does his best to get back in touch with his daughter after a long separation. The Whale, a cinematic adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s stage play of the same name, marks the author’s feature film writing debut. Ty Simpkins, Samantha Morton, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, and Fraser make up an absolutely stellar cast. The Whale will hit theaters on December 9, 2022, and Variety reports that Fraser received a prolonged standing ovation for his emotionally stunning performance at the Venice Film Festival.
