He was the heartthrob of the 90s: Brendan Fraser, with his muscular body, striking facial features and beautiful hair, conquered a lot of fan hearts with his performances in “George – Who Came from the Jungle” or “The Mummy”. You’d think Fraser was just another Hollywood beau who found success purely because of his biceps. But that is obviously not the case.

Because after a long break, the now 53-year-old will soon be back on the big screen. And fans can’t wait — even though Fraser’s appearance has changed quite a bit since his last big screen role in 2013’s Breakout.

In his new film The Whale, the star plays a lonely, severely overweight single father who wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter. In the book, the figure weighs 300 kilos. Accordingly, Fraser gained a lot of weight.

For the shoot, however, he still had to be equipped with upholstery and facial prostheses – because a good 200 kilos gain for a film role, that would be asking a bit much. Nevertheless, Brendan Fraser looks completely different in the first photos from “The Whale” than some might remember from the 90s.

But the reactions are consistently enthusiastic: “Seeing Brendan Fraser again in a film makes my heart so happy,” writes a Twitter user. Or: “Hopefully he will receive the long-deserved awards for this!”

Fraser had almost completely retired from Hollywood for a long time. He says he was put off acting and the industry when he was sexually harassed by film journalist Philip Berk, 89, president of the influential Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in 2003, and no one on the scene responded to Fraser’s allegations.

“The silence was deafening,” he later said in an interview. It wasn’t until 2021 that Berk was fired from the HFPA for sexual misconduct.

For years Fraser retired, only occasionally taking on television roles or appearing in indie films, often foreign. He also accepted dubbing jobs. In recent years it has been obvious that he no longer wants to submit to the typical Hollywood ideal of beauty: he put on a few kilos and stood by his thinning hair. A star who looked like a normal person – kind of refreshing.

For “The Whale” he returned to Hollywood after all. Surely because the challenging role appealed to him, in which he certainly can’t shine with his looks, but with talent and charisma alone.

Already, many consider the actor to be a hot Oscar nominee. However, the film will not be shown until August.

What: “LA Times”