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Brendan Fraser worked with Dwayne Johnson on the former WWE star’s first film role. Two decades later, Fraser took home his first Oscar — thanks in part, he says, to Johnson’s support.
Fraser, 57, and Johnson, 53, first crossed paths while working on The Mummy Returns, the 2001 sequel to The Mummy and the wrestler’s first movie. Reuniting for Variety’s 2025 “Actors on Actors” series, the duo gave each other their flowers for the work they’ve done since — and Fraser said the “success” of his Oscar-winning turn in The Whale is due, in part, to his former costar’s public show of support.
“I owe you a debt of gratitude because when I took The Whale with [director Darren Aronofsky] and the crew to Venice, and they applauded for a very long time and stayed on their feet — I’d never been there before. I didn’t know the whole ritual of it,” the Rental Family actor told Johnson in the interview, published Monday, Dec. 8.
“I was in tears when I watched you,” Johnson then said, referring to when Fraser was moved to tears after The Whale received a six-minute standing ovation at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival. Johnson showed his support on X at the time, sharing a video of the viral moment and penning a heartfelt message to his former costar.
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In their Variety interview, Fraser, who called the moment an “out-of-body experience,” then acknowledged Johnson’s show of support — which he said made him a “godfather” to the acclaimed Aronofsky-directed film.
“I know! And you put your shoulder into that by showing your support through Twitter,” The Mummy star said. “Dwayne, you’re a godfather of sorts of the success of that project. Thank you for that.”
“Look, I’m happy to support you,” said the Jungle Cruise actor. “But also, that moment rocked me and it moved me.”
Johnson went on to reveal that it also “inspired” him — and said it ultimately led him to The Smashing Machine, the biographical drama in which he stars as UFC legend Mark Kerr, in a way.
“I had not experienced Venice until Smashing Machine,” Johnson told Fraser. “I’ve watched it from afar. And then I see this long applause for you. You’re emotional; I’m emotional watching you get emotional.”
“But I felt such joy for you because I felt like that’s what you work for. The other stuff that comes our way — if it does well, great. If it flops, OK, we move on. But that ceremonial applause for something that you ripped yourself open and you went elsewhere — I was so happy for my friend and even more inspired,” he continued. “I want to do that. I want to find that role.”
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In the Variety interview, both actors also describe the reception to the dramas — The Whale and The Smashing Machine — as dreams come true.
“It felt like the fulfillment of a dream I would never have admitted to having,” said Fraser, before asking his former costar, “What happened when the shoe was on the other foot with the reception for The Smashing Machine? Where did it take you?”
In response, the Jumanji star said that prior to the A24 drama, “I was living my dream; not others’ dreams.”
“These other projects, which I love doing, there’s a lot of other entities connected to them. Smashing Machine was just me, Benny Safdie and Emily Blunt,” he explained. “That was my exhale. I felt like I’d never exhaled like that in my career. Like, ‘Wow. We did it.’ ”
Showing his support for Fraser in 2022, Johnson shared a clip of The Whale star’s emotional moment in Venice, and wrote, “Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan.”
“He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career,” the actor added of Fraser. “Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky. #TheWhale 👏🏾.”
