A Long Way from the 'Jungle'

The first time I met Brendan Fraser was more than a decade ago when he came to Manila to promote his starrer George of the Jungle, the Walt Disney movie (which grossed $100-M worldwide) in which he plays a Tarzan-like character. He was slimmer then. He was billeted at a room in Manila Hotel which faced Intramuros. That’s where select entertainment writers and I slipped into (so as not to be noticed by the “uninvited” lot) after the presscon proper held at the Fiesta Pavillion at the ground floor.

Although jet-lagged (he flew in from L.A.), Brendan was very accommodating and very focused, his blue eyes fixed on yours as he answered every question in a no-holds-barred interview. Afterward, he asked what places in Manila he could visit during his few spare hours.

“There,” I pointed out to him from the window of his room, “that’s Manila’s Walled City, very historic. Nearby is the Manila Cathedral and a stone’s throw from it is the Fort Santiago where Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippines’ National Hero, was incarcerated. You can go to Quiapo for souvenir-hunting but you might have some problem with the fans who would surely mob you.”

I’m not sure if Brendan did leave his room or if he simply decided to catch up on sleep.

Barely a year later, guess who Baby Gil and I would bump into a store in Beverly Hills — yes, Brendan no less. Taking time out from the press junket for Anna and The King (Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat), we hied off to Barney’s for window-shopping. As Baby and I got off the cab, I spotted Brendan on the sidewalk, presumably waiting for his car. I told Baby I would say “Hi!” to Brendan (as if we were “close”) and Baby warned me, “He might just ignore you.” Wondering who we were excited about, the black valet asked, “Who’s that guy?” Told who “that guy” was, he shrugged and walked away, “I don’t know him!” Huh? I was tempted to ask him, “When did you land from Mars?”

I did say “Hi!” to Brendan and, with a puzzled look on his face, he said “Hi!” back, for sure asking himself who could the “intruder” (a “stalker,” perhaps?) be.

I met Brendan again last January at Four Seasons (Beverly Hills) during the international press junket for his latest movie, Extraordinary Measures, which is about the true story of John Crowley, a man who defied conventional wisdom and great odds, risking his family’s future as he doggedly pursued a cure for his children’s incurable, life-threatening disease. Inspired by The Cure (by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Geeta Anand), the movie also stars Harrison Ford (more on him next week) as Dr. Robert Stonehill, a brilliant but unappreciated, unconventional scientist who, with Crowley, raised money to put up a bio-tech company focused on developing a life-saving drug.

Extraordinary Measures is a heart-wrenching drama. I dare you not to cry when you watch it (opening nationwide on March 10).

I wonder, do you remember that you visited Manila several years ago?

(Breaking into smile) “Yes, I remember. Around the city, I saw the billboards of my movie (George of the Jungle) side by side with those of Harrison’s movie (Must be Random Hearts — RFL). I thought, ‘Someday, I will do a movie with him.’ It was just a dream then. Look, that dream is now a reality.”

How do you feel now that you have worked with Harrison (also the movie’s executive producer)?

“Harrison is the actor I was inspired by, like so many legions of actors were. He was the individual who singularly inspired me to say ‘I want to be on screen.’ You need someone in the back of your mind to call a role model; someone you would hope to one day emulate in the type of choices you make. For me, it was primarily Harrison. He’s a great guy and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with him. I feel I’m better for it because I’ve learned a lot of things from him along the way.”

What’s in the project that you found attractive?

“I’ve made a lot of different kinds of movies, but I think that this one stands out apart from other work I’ve seen come my way. Sometimes in life the answer is ‘no’ and sometimes it’s the right answer, the answer you have to live with. But John actually said, ‘No is not acceptable. I’m going to find a way to turn no into a maybe, and then maybe into a yes.’ If he was going to go down, he was going down swinging. Those are the ear markings of a true hero. I find John’s story very attractive, irresistibly so.”

Being a father of three, did you see yourself in John Crowley?

“I certainly did. I guess any father would. If you have children suffering from a rare, fatal disease, I’m sure that like John you would also take extraordinary measures to find a drug, if not a cure. His children are alive today because of the extraordinary measures that he took.”

Has the movie influenced you to spend quality time with your family?

“Yes, it did. I look at my own children and I remember John’s children, and then I hug my children as tightly as I can.”

Born in Indianapolis and raised in Europe and Canada, Brendan started honing his craft since he was 12 and attending theater when his family lived in London. He attended high school at Toronto’s Upper Canada College and received a B.F.A. in acting from the Actor’s Conservatory, Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

In 2009, he starred in and executive produced New Line/Warner Bros’ Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3-D which grossed over $100-M in the US and Universal Pictures’ Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (over $400-M worldwide).

Before Extraordinary Measures, he starred in The Air I Breathe, a drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb, which had its premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

Brendan has also starred in some of the most successful indie films including Crash (2008 Oscar Best Picture), The Quiet American (based on the Graham Greene 1955 thriller) and Gods and Monsters.

Other film credits: Walt Disney’s Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Bedazzled, Monkey Bone, Blast From the Past, Dudley Do-Right, Mrs. Winterbourne (with Shirley MacLaine), Encino Man, School Ties, With Honors, Airheads, The Scout and The Twilight of the Gods.

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