During the filming of The Mummy in 1999, something went wrong with a stunt. The rope actually almost ended up strangling actor Brendan Fraser. The movie almost cost him his life. As much of shooting took place in the desert, Fraser and other actors had to consume a special liquid every two hours so as not to die from dehydration.
Over the course of his career, Fraser performed many of his own stunts. And in doing so, he sustained horrific injuries. The actor had hundreds of contusions, a partial knee replacement, and his vocal cords needed to be repaired, among many surgeries. Fraser also had to do a laminectomy, in which a portion or all of the patient’s vertebra bone is removed. This helps ease pressure on the spinal cord or the nerve roots. The operation was botched, however, and had to be repeated again the next year, causing the actor further suffering.
His wife then divorced him. But by the time she did, his income had dried up as his injuries had made his career as an action star nearly impossible. Still, a judge ordered Fraser to support his wife with an insanely high alimony, based not on what he did make but on what he used to make… aside from this, Fraser lost custody of his children.
In 2003, a powerful Hollywood director groped Brendan Fraser. The assault traumatized him and after threatening to speak out… he was all-but blacklisted in the business. This further compromised his already struggling career. For years, Fraser struggled. He was depressed, in physical pain, and he gained a lot of weight. His posture was terrible, his back injuries literally caused him to lose height, and emotionally and mentally he was in turmoil.
Then, in 2022, Brendan Fraser starred in The Whale. And he won an Oscar for his role. It was a beautiful comeback, precisely because of how awful his life had been for the fifteen or so years prior to his glorious win. Because before 2023 turned things around for him… this guy really had the worst luck.
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