Hollywood can be a fickle place, especially for A-listers. One minute you’re on top, your face on the posters of back-to-back hit movies, and the next you have been replaced by a new generation of up-and-coming actors. The transition from top talent to a has-been is an unfortunate one. But in some rare cases, the cycle can indeed be reversed.

Something like that seems to be happening with Brendan Fraser. After years of being out of the public spotlight, leaving fans wondering where he had been, Fraser is having a golden moment in Hollywood once again (a Brendanaissance, if you will). This moment is not the result of a single thing, but a combination of factors. Let us take a look at how 2022 has become the year of a fresh start for Brendan Fraser’s career.

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Fraser’s Promising Early Years

     Paramount Pictures

The 1990s was a transformative time for Hollywood. It was a time when the success of movies still largely dependent upon actors and scripts instead of franchise IP recognition. The industry was on the lookout for promising new leading talents to turn into stars. Enter 1992’s Encino Man, a wacky comedy movie that featured a charismatic lead performance by newbie actor Brendan Fraser.

The movie established the tall, handsome young actor’s impeccable comic skills and leading man potential. A dramatic turn in the same year’s School Ties proved that Fraser was not just a one-note comedian, but a well-rounded actor who could hold his own against the best of his acting peers, like his co-stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Chris O’Donnell.

The Mummy Era

     Universal Pictures

Throughout the ‘90s, Fraser steadily built up an impressive resume as a likable and charismatic leading man across several genres of movies. 1997’s George of the Jungle proved to be a defining moment in the actor’s career, indicating that he was ready to step above the ranks of Hollywood leading men to the hallowed position of a blockbuster A-lister.

RELATED: Brendan Fraser Says Tom Cruise’s The Mummy Failed Because It Forgot One Thing

And then came the movie that cemented Fraser’s status as one of his generation’s biggest stars. 1999’s The Mummy was a film that few people had major expectations from. But its heady mix of old-school action, adventure, and comedy resulted in a giant worldwide hit. Fraser’s turn as swashbuckling leading man Rick O’Connell drew special praise, being compared to iconic characters like Indiana Jones and James Bond.

Brendan Fraser Hits the Big Leagues

     Double Feature Films

Thanks to the success of The Mummy franchise, the 2000s were a great time for Brendan Fraser’s career. Apart from reprising his role as Rick O’Connell, Fraser starred in a number of well-received movies like Bedazzled, The Quiet American, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action. While not every movie was a giant hit, audiences continued to respond favorably to Fraser’s easy-going onscreen charm.

The actor also took time off from movies to appear in minor roles on television. One of the most notable examples is Fraser’s appearance in two episodes of Scrubs, widely considered among the best episodes in the entire run of the series. Seemingly unable to make a wrong career movie, Fraser received a star in his home country Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2006 for his contributions to the entertainment industry.

The Missing Years

     Warner Bros. Pictures

After two decades of working with the best talent mainstream Hollywood had to offer, Brendan Fraser’s career appeared to come to an abrupt halt in the 2010s. The actor was still appearing in a film or two per year, but the projects were suddenly much more niche and off-beat, like the Bollywood film where Fraser plays an undercover cop, or the 2013 direct-to-video Canadian action-thriller Breakout.

RELATED: The Best Brendan Fraser Movies and Shows After The Mummy Franchise

Fans began to wonder about the strange new direction the actor’s career had taken, and why he stopped appearing in mainstream blockbusters in leading roles. The truth is Fraser’s private life at the time was going through an extreme upheaval due to a difficult divorce process, and some serious workplace injuries. He also blamed his career downfall on sexual harassment which he personally experienced. All of that had a direct effect on his choice of roles and the sort of projects he said yes to. The 2010s would end with Brendan Fraser almost disappearing from the pop-cultural zeitgeist.

The Career Turnaround

     HBO Max

Despite not appearing in any major projects for a decade, fans had not forgotten about Brendan Fraser. So when the actor made his comeback with the 2021 Hollywood movie No Sudden Move, the project was heralded by fans on social media as the return of a Hollywood favorite who had been gone from the silver screen for far too long.

Fraser further proved that he was serious about making his comeback, and not hung up on being seen as an A-lister, when he accepted a supporting role as Cliff Steel on the DC superhero show Doom Patrol. Fraser’s turn as the tortured anti-hero was praised as a highlight of the series and served to further push the actor back onto the Hollywood map.

Brendan Fraser Makes a Comeback with The Whale

     A24

All of this has led to 2022, when Fraser teamed up with celebrated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky to play the lead in the indie psychological drama movie The Whale opposite Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. The movie has won rave reviews from critics, and Fraser’s lead role as an overweight man struggling to reconnect with his estranged daughter is being called his career-best performance.

With an Oscar nomination for his turn in The Whale deemed to be strongly on the cards, Fraser is making a mighty case for being put back on the Hollywood A-list. While the high-profile Batgirl movie that the actor was also set to be a part of has been canceled, Fraser has a number of interesting mainstream projects in the pipeline, meaning the 2020s might very well be the era of the second coming of Brendan Fraser.