Brendan Fraser,  Born December 3, 1968

 

Brendan Fraser was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is the youngest of four boys born to Peter and Carol Fraser.  Fraser’s family moved quite a bit when he was young, and he spent time living in places such as Cali, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.  He attended and graduated from Seattle’s Corny College of the Arts in 1990 – wait, that’s Cornish College…honest mistake.  Brendan then began acting at a small college in N.Y. and planned on attending graduate school in Texas.  Unfortunately he made a detour to Hollywood on his way to the lonestar state, and decided to stay in L.A. so he could establish a movie career.

 

Fraser’s first role was in a reenactment on America’s Most Wanted in 1988, and his acting prowess was probably even bad by that shows’ standards.  His first lead role came in the 1992 film Encino Man, where Fraser played a neanderthal who is thawed out in the 20th century.  The role was pretty much a perfect fit, and he also had the benefit of learning from a well-respected thespian - Pauly Shore.  His next film, School Ties, was actually pretty decent; but it was mainly due to the storyline, and had little (if anything) to do with Brendan’s acting.  From then on, his filmography is basically a rundown of some of the worst movies made since 1993.  This list includes bombs like The Scout, George of the Jungle, Blast from the Past, Dudley Do-Right, Bedazzled, Monkeybone, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. 

 

Fraser also ruined a trilogy that probably should have never been made in the first place, The Mummy.  My friends and I have debated whether or not the awfulness of these movies is caused solely by Fraser.  Would this trilogy have been decent if someone like Harrison Ford played the lead?  It’s kind of like the chicken or the egg argument, but I guarantee they couldn’t have been any more terrible.  Brendan latest project is a cameo in the upcoming live action film adaptation of G.I. Joe, which happens to be directed by the same guy who did The Mummy films.  Hopefully his screen time is minimal and doesn’t include a speaking role; if this is not the case, I will go ahead and say he ruined this movie too.

 

Journey to the Center of the Earth would have been better if the story had revolved around a crappy 80′s band: