Brendan Fraser Reveals Why an Oscar Didn’t Silence His Self-Doubt
Even after an Oscar-winning comeback with Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, Brendan Fraser says the spotlight hasn’t silenced his self-doubt. The star opens up about rebuilding confidence as his career heats up again.
Brendan Fraser is back in the spotlight with a new movie and the same old honesty. Even with an Oscar on his shelf, he is not pretending everything suddenly clicked into place. If anything, his latest role poked the bruise.
Fraser in 'Rental Family' — art imitating life a little too closely
Fraser, 56, stars in Hikari's 'Rental Family' as a struggling actor. The film has been drawing strong reviews, and once again he is the center of attention. But playing a guy whose career is wobbling stirred up some familiar stuff. In a recent Associated Press interview, he said he keeps a mental warning light on: basically, do not get comfortable — it can happen again.
'I struggle with confidence. I always have the feeling of not being good enough. Believe me, no one can be harder on me than me. No critic, no pithy internet comment can be more biting to me than myself in my private thoughts.'
Post-Oscar reality check
For context: Fraser won Best Actor for Darren Aronofsky's 'The Whale' — a massive comeback by any measure. You might assume that cures everything. He says it did not. He describes that period as drifting without an agent and hunting for a unicorn project that had not already been recycled to oblivion. When 'Rental Family' came along, he likened the decision to choosing a dog at the pound — not the shiny purebred, but the scruffy mutt with maybe four teeth and a janky eye. It is self-deprecating, and yes, funny, but it also tells you where his head was: looking for something singular, even if it looked rough at first glance.
Why this one mattered
Fraser credits Hikari with giving him exactly the kind of next step he needed after the awards whirlwind — a clean pivot out of that strange vacuum where everyone is asking what you do for an encore. He also says making the film in Japan and fully immersing himself in the culture was something he genuinely needed at this point in his life and career.
'Rental Family' is now playing in theaters.