Pop culture comeback inspire so many responses, as no two stories are the same. Actor Brendan Fraser’s “Brenaissance” happens to be a good case of one of the sweetest reactions, as the 2023 Oscar nominations have seen him ride that wave to a Best Actor nod for his role in The Whale.
While some minor bumps have been encountered, like the shelving of his villainous role in the DC movie Batgirl, it’s still been a pretty awesome ride. Its latest stop saw Fraser acknowledge the phenomenon, with an A+ reaction to the term in an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, thanks to a rather amusing art reference.
The Academy Award nominee got pretty literal about his career boost, using the actual Renaissance as inspiration for a well-played joke. Responding to his host’s query about the Brenaissance, Brendan Fraser made a Sistine Chapel joke that pulled two of his fan favorite characters in for an artistic laugh:
Every time I hear that I want to look at the ceiling. Oh look there’s Rick O’Connell, oh look there’s George of the Jungle. You can call me whatever you want just as long as you’re calling me, okay?
You can practically picture it, can’t you? The Mummy’s Rick O’Connell reclined on one cloud, with George from George of the Jungle floating above him on the other. Hands extended to each other, these titans from some of the best Brendan Fraser movies and TV shows are prime picks for the honors. For as lofty as it all sounds, even Fraser knows that he’s in a pretty awesome place in his career right now.
Brendan Fraser fans who want to keep the Brenaissance flames burning can do so with these recent and upcoming projects in the actor's canon:
Doom Patrol (2019 - 2022) (streaming on HBO Max)
No Sudden Move (2021) (streaming on HBO Max)
The Whale (2022) (in theaters)
Professionals (2022) (streaming on The CW)
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) (in theaters/streaming on Apple TV+, release date TBD)
That much is seen when observing the gratitude that he’s shown every step of the way, even ahead of his hotly anticipated 2023 new movie release, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Awards season has only thrown those feels into overdrive, as Brendan Fraser fans express their own feelings in response to his acceptance speeches and continued nominations for The Whale.
As you’ll see in the full clip from The Graham Norton Show, Fraser is definitely gracious for the Brenaissance being in full swing. Responding through humor and warmth, it’s the best reaction anyone could expect from someone as beloved as this veteran mummy hunter.
The countdown to March 12th’s 95th Academy Awards keeps fueling the Brenaissance machine, and Brendan Fraser is here for it. No matter the result on that night, Fraser and his fans have been reunited, and it feels so good. So don’t expect to see these good tidings wash away just yet, as there’s more work to be done, and plenty more Fraser-ly goodness to enjoy in the near future.
Unearthing The Mummy isn’t as hard, or deadly, as it was in the 1999 action-comedy classic. Using a Hulu subscription, trips to Hamunaptra and all the locales of the first two installments is as easy as reading from the Book of the Dead. The big difference being that we here at CinemaBlend only recommend one of those experiences, and it’s not the one that resurrects Imhotep.
