Two years ago, Brendan Fraser took home his first Academy Award for starring in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” and ushered in what fans quickly coined “The Brenaissance.” Now, he’s the leading man in a film once more with “Rental Family,” and Fraser took the choice very seriously after winning one of film’s highest honors.
“It made me feel like I really got to find something unique, that I also cared deeply about, and that would give me a chance to travel a bit,” he explained to TheWrap. “So, when ‘Rental Family’ came across my radar, I paid attention.”
Directed and co-written by Hikari, “Rental Family” centers on Phillip Vandarploeg, an actor who’s been living in Japan for seven years and struggling to find work. That changes when he’s recruited by Rental Family Inc., a service that allows normal people to hire actors to play various roles in their lives — that could be a family member, a friend, a perfect stranger, you name it.
This is actually a very real business model that exists in Japan, with Fraser noting that there are about 300 active companies that offer the service.
For Phillip, two roles become central to his life. First, he’s hired to play the long lost father of a little girl (Shannon Gorman), to help her get into a prestigious primary school that would not take her if she was being raised by a single mother. Concurrently, he’s hired to play a journalist writing a fake story on an aging movie director (Akira Emoto) who worries about not leaving a legacy behind.
Both roles strike a nerve in different ways, as Phillip himself grew up without a father. So, as he plays a father to this young girl, he also finds a father figure for himself. It’s an emotional story, but one that packs in a few twists and some humor too — arguably a perfect combination for Fraser as an actor.
“In a way, I felt like it’s something that I know how to do, that I want to do, moreover,” Fraser said. “I mean, I don’t always know how to do my job, but I find out along the way. I think it had the right combination of empathy and not sentimentality. I think it made sense as a film because it’s something that’s out of the ordinary.”
It also packed a bit of nostalgia for the actor, who noted that filming “Rental Family” brought back memories of his early career.
“It also felt like a return to ’90s style independent filmmaking,” Fraser said. “Although, you know, we were shooting in Japan, on a modest budget, with digital cameras, and it still had the spirit of ‘We’re running on enthusiasm,’ which is true!”
Of course, there’s a bit of irony in Fraser, an actor in real life, playing an actor onscreen. As Phillip comes to understand the importance of his roles in people’s lives, Fraser himself has known the same experience. That’s especially true as he’s started attending fan conventions.
“It’s kind of like speed dating, in a way, because there’s a long side of people, and they come through, and you have a few quick moments with them,” Fraser joked. “And occasionally someone will come through the line, and you can just kind of vibe it. They’ve got something onboard that they really want to tell you about. And I’ll always take a moment to listen to them.”
According to the actor, “The Whale” is a movie of his that comes up quite often, as fans detail the impact it had on their lives.
“Often those remarks are, ‘Hey, you know, ‘The Whale’ really made a difference in my life. It made me rethink my choices. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone. It made me feel like they could understand a family member who struggled with the same health issues that the character Charlie did,’” Fraser recalled. “It also has inspired a lot of number of people who may be grappling with with weight issues to seek help.”
The “Whale” teamed with The Obesity Action Coalition when it came out and, despite being a resource to help people, the organization struggled to get people engaged until the film came along. That’s the kind of thing that sticks with Fraser.
That said, he is equally as happy to discuss his less serious films, like “The Mummy” — though he won’t give up any details on the fourth film that’s in the works — “Blast From the Past” and “George of the Jungle.”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of “Bedazzled,” in which he starred alongside Elizabeth Hurley (who played the Devil). Fraser looks back at that just as fondly, recalling how it made the legendary John Cleese laugh during a set visit, which reassured everyone involved that “we were on to something.”
Fraser even reunites with Hurley on a new series that premieres on Tubi next year, called “Breaking Bear.” Hurley is once again the baddie in it, and according to Fraser, she’s so happy to get to “torture him again.”
“I make films to hopefully enlighten and entertain. And you know, sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can work with creatives who also have a poetic vision of how to do that,” Fraser said. “And if it does impart some kind of curative, or some sort of takeaway that stays with you after the the credit crawl, then that’s a bonus. And I feel like ‘Rental Family’ is one of those.”
“I think what it comes down to is we all want to belong,” he added. “We all want to feel like we’re part of a group, a family, or a workplace, etc. And if there’s something that’s holding you back, then it’s a good thing to ask for help, or pick up the phone and call.”
You can watch TheWrap’s full interview with Brendan Fraser in the video above.
“Rental Family” is now in theaters everywhere.
