Brendan Fraser, most well known for his role as Rick O’Connell in ‘The Mummy’, has been on a bit of a break from Hollywood since 2008. Brendan appeared in the 2011 pilot episode of The Marriage Ref and played Dad Fred in Zookeeper. The primary reason Brendan has been away from Hollywood for so long is that Brendan had surgery on his shoulder back in 2008. While filming the thriller The Air I Breathe, Brendan’s right arm went limp and the limp would stick with Brendan for about six months. Eventually, Brendan went to see a doctor where it was discovered Brendan had partially torn his rotator cuff and he had surgery on ‘both of his shoulders’. Unfortunately, Brendan never returned to acting in any feature films after his surgery due to immense pain while carrying heavy objects.
Brendan is doing better these days, however, Brendan still suffers daily from the pain that shoots down through his arm. This may be why Brendan’s recent roles have been comedic roles rather than serious action star roles that Brendan became famous for in the early 2000s. Despite Brendan’s suffering, as recently as January 2013, he has expressed interest in returning to feature films but “if it were up to him” he wouldn’t. Brendan is a self-proclaimed homebody and wants to spend his time with his family. Fraser is now 52 and is expected to star in the upcoming movie as the character Jones. He stars in the film along with David Harbour, who plays Matt Wertz, and Jon Hamm, who plays Joe Finney. Another movie he will be starting is the Whale where he plays a 600 lbs man who is a lonely and depressed individual looking to reconnect with his daughter after his lifelong partner has died. Many fans were surprised to see Brendan Fraser at the Tribeca film festival in New York, as he was unrecognizable. Brendan wore a black suit, and the pounds Brendan gained for his roles over the past few years were evident. Brendan’s fans went wild when they recognized Brendan at the film festival, taking pictures with their phones as well as showing their support by shouting Brendan’s name.
The sudden weight gain wasn’t the only change Brendan made to his appearance. While this may be par for the course for some celebrities, it is unusual that Brendan would show up at an event looking so different from when he was the last onset. Brendan Fraser’s new appearance at Tribeca brought on criticism as well as support. Brendan was compared to Seth Rogen by some fans which resulted in a backlash among others who defended Brendan and pointed out that being overweight doesn’t make one less attractive. Regardless of Brendan’s weight gain or lack thereof, many would agree Brendan Fraser’s new look is vastly different from his days in The Mummy. Brendan had declined an opportunity to star in ‘The Expendables 3’, a movie that involved other action heroes such as Jason Statham, Jet li, and Dolph Lundgren. While Brendan may have lost some fans after gaining weight, he received mostly positive reviews after his cameo in the film ‘The Brothers Grimsby’. Brendan plays an American secret agent who falls into a porta-potty during one scene. This was a far cry from Brendan’s previous roles where Brendan often played masculine tough guys.
