When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/i><\/p>\n Credit: Universal Pictures<\/p>\n Oscar winner Brendan Fraser<\/u><\/a> is happily pausing his Brenissance 2.0<\/u><\/a> to cheer on a friend. As Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson earns early acclaim<\/u><\/a> for his vulnerable turn in the upcoming <\/u>The Smashing Machine<\/u><\/a>, the George of the Jungle veteran star lit up when asked about his former The Mummy Returns (sorta) scene partner stepping into a bruising prestige role \u2014 and potentially the thick of awards season.<\/p>\n While promoting his own 2025 movie schedule release<\/u><\/a> Rental Family, Fraser spoke with People<\/u><\/a> at TIFF. TheWhale star said it\u2019s \u201cexciting\u201d to see Johnson in this new phase, fresh off festival raves and headed for a busy fall. In his words:<\/p>\n Dwayne, he’s a really great guy and it’s gonna be exciting to watch him emerge from this. I predict you’ll be seeing a lot more of him on these red carpets in the days to come.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That endorsement lands with extra warmth given their shared history. Johnson\u2019s big-screen debut came opposite the Crash actor in 2001\u2019s The Mummy Returns, though the two technically never spoke on set<\/u><\/a>, but they have traded support ever since. When Fraser\u2019s The Whale comeback drew standing ovations<\/u><\/a> in 2022, Johnson publicly cheered him on<\/u><\/a> and recalled how the Brothers performer welcomed him into the popular Mummy franchise for his first film role. Fraser called that message \u201creally nice,\u201d a small gesture fans of both men still cite as a highlight of the Brenaissance.<\/p>\n Credit: A24<\/p>\n Johnson\u2019s latest performance, as MMA legend Mark Kerr in the upcoming A24 release,<\/u><\/a> has been framed as a deliberate shift away from action movie franchise mode toward something more vulnerable. The Venice-to-Toronto buzz has only stoked curiosity about how far the star is willing to peel back the persona. With a U.S. and Canada theatrical date set for October 3, the stage is set for a second, very different act from the guy who once turned up as the Scorpion King.<\/p>\n Brendan Fraser knows that terrain. Two award seasons ago, he rode festival love all the way to Best Actor for The Whale, a role that asked him to be present, exposed, and unguarded. His read on Johnson \u2014 \u201cyou\u2019ll be seeing a lot more of him on these red carpets\u201d \u2014 sounds less like wishful thinking and more like recognition. He\u2019s seen how a single, fully committed performance can realign a career, and he is more than a little qualified to recognize the telltale signs that a familiar face is about to surprise a lot of audience members.<\/p>\n Credit: Universal Pictures<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Doom Patrol alum is keeping his own momentum. Though he\u2019s been candid about being \u201cpicky\u201d with his next roles<\/u><\/a>, he finally has a follow-up: Rental Family, which could put him back in the award season mix. He plays an American actor in Tokyo hired by a \u201crental family\u201d agency to stand in for strangers, and the film is set for a November 21 release.<\/p>\n This post-Oscar run has taken him from Killers of the Flower Moon to intimate festival fare. And the Brenaissance train refuses to hit the gas yet\u2014he\u2019s taking another measured swing with his upcoming D-Day movie<\/u><\/a> Pressure, reportedly another grab the tissues entry. With each new role, Brendan Fraser\u2019s comeback looks less like a blip<\/u><\/a> and more like a mission to move audiences with heartfelt, memorable work.<\/p>\n If The Smashing Machine becomes Johnson\u2019s gateway to the prestige circuit, the Inkheart actor is the perfect person to welcome him to the party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Universal Pictures Oscar winner Brendan Fraser is happily pausing his Brenissance 2.0 to cheer on a friend. As Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson earns early acclaim for his vulnerable turn in the upcoming The Smashing Machine, the George […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2011168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[342228,367799,320410],"class_list":["post-2011167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-brendan-fraser","tag-the-mummy-returns","tag-universal-pictures"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Brendan-Fraser-Shares-Sweet-Thoughts-On-Mummy-Returns-Co-Star-Dwayne.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2011168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2011167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2011167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/span><\/div>\n
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