Brendan Fraser Details His ‘Eye-Opening’ Experience Making \u201cRental Family\u201d in Tokyo (Exclusive)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Brendan Fraser leads Rental Family<\/em>, the new movie from director Hikari<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- \n\n
PEOPLE has an exclusive behind-the-scenes look featuring interviews with the filmmaking team about filming in Japan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Fraser recalls the \u201ceye-opening\u201d experience of \u201cwandering the streets\u201d of Tokyo to immerse himself in the culture<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Brendan Fraser<\/a> immersed himself like never before for his new movie Rental Family<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\nFrom Japanese writer-director Hikari, the film is the tale of an American actor played by Fraser, 56, employed in Tokyo in a rental family service that inserts him into ordinary people’s lives.<\/p>\n
The movie, costarring Mari Yamamoto, Takehiro Hira, Shannon Mahina Gorman and Akira Emoto, has earned festival awards and critical buzz since its September premiere<\/a> at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.<\/p>\n\u201cI love the aspect of making discoveries,\u201d says Fraser in a new behind-the-scenes video shared exclusively with PEOPLE.<\/p>\n
That goes for Phillip Vandarploeug, the fish out of water he plays in Rental Family<\/em>, and for the Oscar winner himself in Japan. \u201cI took the time to come in early enough to feel like I had my own Tokyo story to tell,\u201d he shares. \u201cI spent enough time wandering the streets with my pocket translator trying to talk to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\nDoing so, Fraser recalls, \u201cwas one of the most eye-opening experiences I\u2019ve had in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n![\"Searchlight](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/4xqrRpDcxfyJgtc6Y_nlbw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTQyMDtoPTY0ODtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/8f57e8baf7864a8923b0cd8b1f3bd483\"\/)
<\/div>\n\nSearchlight Pictures<\/p>\n
Brendan Fraser in “Rental Family”<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Brendan Fraser leads Rental Family<\/em>, the new movie from director Hikari<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n PEOPLE has an exclusive behind-the-scenes look featuring interviews with the filmmaking team about filming in Japan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Fraser recalls the \u201ceye-opening\u201d experience of \u201cwandering the streets\u201d of Tokyo to immerse himself in the culture<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Brendan Fraser<\/a> immersed himself like never before for his new movie Rental Family<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n From Japanese writer-director Hikari, the film is the tale of an American actor played by Fraser, 56, employed in Tokyo in a rental family service that inserts him into ordinary people’s lives.<\/p>\n The movie, costarring Mari Yamamoto, Takehiro Hira, Shannon Mahina Gorman and Akira Emoto, has earned festival awards and critical buzz since its September premiere<\/a> at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.<\/p>\n \u201cI love the aspect of making discoveries,\u201d says Fraser in a new behind-the-scenes video shared exclusively with PEOPLE.<\/p>\n That goes for Phillip Vandarploeug, the fish out of water he plays in Rental Family<\/em>, and for the Oscar winner himself in Japan. \u201cI took the time to come in early enough to feel like I had my own Tokyo story to tell,\u201d he shares. \u201cI spent enough time wandering the streets with my pocket translator trying to talk to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Doing so, Fraser recalls, \u201cwas one of the most eye-opening experiences I\u2019ve had in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n Searchlight Pictures<\/p>\n Brendan Fraser in “Rental Family”<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>