Brendan Fraser on the ‘self-loathing’ that defined his early career: ‘In a way I felt I deserved a beating’

Brendan Fraser is mostly known for his physical appearances in popular comedies like The Mummy and George from the junglebut in a recent interview, The whale Star detailed the effect his early career performance had on his mind and body.

“I was a bit confused about my own stunts for years and needed surgical repairs to the spine and hinges,” he told The Telegraph.

The actor then underwent a series of surgeries, including a partial knee replacement to repair his body.

“It affected me a lot. I knew I would get better, but it took a long time,” he said.

Fraser kept saying this in 2007 while filming a third mommy Film set in China, he woke up every morning “impersonating a muscle-bound gladiator with ice packs and strapped on this Transformer-like exoskeleton to get through the scene.”

When asked if he endured such physical pain because of some “self-loathing,” he replied, “There was definitely self-loathing. I think on some level I felt I deserved it [a beating] and wanted to be the one to score the first goal.

Elsewhere in the interview, Fraser talked about his changing physique. When George from the jungleFraser was best known for his muscular build, and he told the newspaper “it would make sense” to look like that “if only they’d give me a butt to carry”.

Here Fraser referred to his George from the jungle Costume consisting of a single piece of leopard print fabric covering his lower half.

“I’m older now; I don’t look like I did then, and I don’t really want to,” Fraser continued. “But I have made peace with who I am now. And I’m glad that the work I can do is based on an emotional reality that is not my own life, but with which I can strongly relate.”

Fraser received his first Oscar nomination last week for his lead role in The whale. In the film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, Fraser plays Charlie, a severely overweight man trying to develop a relationship with his daughter. The film was criticized for its use of fat suits and its general depiction of obesity.

“You have to see the work,” Fraser told The Telegraph in response to critics. “All I can say is I knew it had to be done with sensitivity and honesty. Surrounding Charlie with quotes—sentimentalizing him or turning him into a circus act—wouldn’t be something I want to be a part of.”