Brendan Fraser has reflected on his return to the big screen, after his career was ‘derailed’ when he spoke out against an alleged sexual assault.
The 54-year-old’s new film, The Whale, is released in cinemas on December 9, marking his Hollywood comeback after he retreated from the limelight.
He previously alleged that he was sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, at a luncheon in 2003.
The Mummy star went public with the incident in 2018, during a candid interview – after which Berk firmly denied the claims, and no charges were ever brought against him.
In a new chat with CBS Mornings’ Lee Cowan, Fraser spoke of the impact that the alleged incident had on him, and his budding career.
When asked if the assault claims ‘derailed’ things in the industry, he said: ‘Well, yes, because there’s a system in place that is about power. And I had played by the rules up until that point.
Brendan Fraser marked his big screen return with the Whale (Picture: Shutterstock)
‘And I felt like, okay, now, suddenly, I’ve been violated. And it has gone too far. And I will no longer abide this.
‘It was causing me emotional distress, it was causing me personal distress.’
‘I spoke up because I saw so many of my friends and colleagues who, at that time, were bravely emerging to speak their truth to power,’ he added. ‘And I had something to say, too.’
Fraser alleged that he was attending an event hosted at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2003, when Berk assaulted him.
Brendan has been tipped to win an Oscar thanks to the emotional flick (Picture: Getty)
‘His left hand reaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around,’ he told GQ four years ago.
He said that he was initially overcome by fear, but was eventually able to remove Berk’s hand.
‘I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry,’ he continued.
‘I felt like someone had thrown invisible paint on me.’
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Berk denied the allegations – with a HFPA investigation concluding that he had acted inappropriately but meant it as a ‘joke’.
He acknowledged that he discussed the alleged incident in a letter to Fraser, but told GQ: ‘My apology admitted no wrongdoing, the usual “If I’ve done anything that upset Mr Fraser, it was not intended and I apologize.”’
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Brendan has returned to the limelight.
