Hollywood knows how to tell inspiring stories, but it’s always so much sweeter when a lovely real-life tale comes out of the sometimes dark celebrity mecca. For instance, Brendan Fraser is in the middle of a comeback — fondly referred to as the Brenaissance by doting fans — and has a whole community of fans rooting for him. One such fan recently gave him some major praise while asking about his career resurgence. And Fraser graciously responded by recalling the moment that made him confident that stepping back into his acting career was the right decision.
Brendan Fraser’s move from Hollywood was due to years of physical wear and tear on his body along with personal tragedies like the death of his mother. There was also another unfortunate component to it as, in 2018, he came forward with allegations of sexual assault against an HFPA member that he says groped him in 2003. His story is one that survivors of sexual assault have identified with and, at Megacon (via Gaming Bible) one fan thanked him for talking about his experience and said that his openness and bravery in speaking out as a huge inspiration. Here it is in the fan’s own words:
First of all, I just wanna say thank you for sharing your stories. I know many people, including myself are survivors, and seeing you talk about it has been one of the most inspirational things I’ve seen in my life.
Per the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 81% of women and 43% of men make up survivors of SA. It’s also not uncommon for both women and men to have negative consequences in their personal life and/or career when coming forward with their experiences. Though Brendan Fraser didn’t speak out until just a few years ago, his openness on the matter still speaks volumes, as evidenced by the fan at the convention.
Said person went on to ask the George of the Jungle star if there’s a moment that he can measure his assurance of whether his comeback was the right decision, and it turns out Fraser can. In his response, Fraser says that this was the time he brought a horse home from a film set. Here it is in his own words:
Are you ready for this? It was when I got that horse, Who I’m sad to say has gone on to greener pastures, but I learned a great deal.
The horse that he’s most likely talking about is Pecas, who he met in Mexico while on set of Texas Rising back in 2015. In an exclusive interview with GQ, the actor about Pecas and what rescuing the horse meant to him. It’s interesting to hear that this would be the time that he knew he should return to acting, but it’s an incredibly sweet way to come to such a realization.
Brendan Fraser is pretty much in peak comeback mode at this point, and longtime fans of The Mummy star are probably just as grateful for Pecas as Fraser himself is. As a result, fans will be able to see Fraser as Firefly in DC and HBO Max’s upcoming movie release Batgirl as well as Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. We’ll be watching intently as the star continues to land roles.