In the 1990s and early 2000s, American-Canadian actor Brendan Fraser was a star of the big screen, enjoyed by audiences for his affable screen presence and emotional expression.
In films like George of the Jungle and The Mummy, Fraser gave us happy-go-lucky Hollywood entertainment, without taking himself too seriously. In films like Gods and Monsters and The Quiet American, he showed his gift for more dramatic roles, a quality that has led to plenty of praise for the actor in his recent career revival.
Fraser’s upturn in opportunities and the acclaim that has come his way for his peformance in Darron Aronofsky film The Whale has been heartwarming to see. What we’ll make of that film remains to be seen ahead of its Irish release on February 3rd, but there’s been a swell of well-deserved support for the actor and that celebration continues at the Light House in the run up to The Whale‘s release. The Smithfield cinema are anticipating the film with a season of Brendan Fraser films, a week-long reminder of why he was a favourite of film fans for so long.
From 28th January – 1st Feb, the Light House will be showing 8 favourites from Fraser’s filmography. The actor’s easygoing screen presence and winning smile helped him to sell some out-there premises – Fraser played a man from a different time in two 90s comedies, as well as a jungle boy – and the programming is exactly what it says on the tin for this season, a reminder of what we love about the actor.
The selection includes a double helping of the iconic Rick O’Connell in the excellent adventure films The Mummy and The Mummy Returns on Saturday January 28th. Following this double bill on the same date, they’re showing him rocking with bandmates Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi in Airheads, the underseen rock and roll hostage comedy.
Their Brendan Fraser Season will also include Gods and Monsters, California Man, George of the Jungle, Blast from the Past and The Quiet American , with the cinema promising a week full of rich, fun, humble, heroic and warm characters to put a smile on your face in these cold, cold times.
Check out the full selection below. Tickets are available now from the Light House Cinema for their season all about Why We Love Brendan Fraser.
THE MUMMY (1999)
Jan 28 / 2023
14:45
THE MUMMY RETURNS
Jan 28 / 2023
17:30
AIRHEADS
Jan 28 / 2023
21:30
GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE
Jan 29 / 2023
15:00
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Jan 29 / 2023
17:20
CALIFORNIA MAN
Jan 30 / 2023
18:30
THE QUIET AMERICAN
Jan 31 / 2023
18:00
GODS AND MONSTERS
Feb 01 / 2023
20:30
CALIFORNIA MAN
Jan 30 / 2023
18:30
The long gap in notable film roles in Fraser’s career follows alleged blacklisting. The actor has spoken about his experiences in being sexually harassed by the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The emotional swell of support behind the actor is all the more moving with an awareness of what happened to Fraser, how it made him retreat and feel reclusive. The experience, and the support that Fraser has received in this current stage of his career, is heartening and a call to action not to forget others who all too often experience the same treatment, and to give them the same support, encouragement and opportunity.