10 March 2024 , 21:00
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Brendan Fraser is continuing his Hollywood resurgence as he prepares to present an award at the 96th annual Oscars ceremony.
The once seemingly blacklisted actor made his long-awaited movie comeback in last year's The Whale, winning an Academy Award for his leading role. Now, as the stars descend on the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday evening, Brendan is getting ready to take to the stage to hand out one of the prestigious gongs.
But it was all so different for a long time as Brendan, now 55, was allegedly shunned for opening up on past abuse claims. In the late 1990s and early noughties, Brendan was a mainstay on the big screen, with key roles in the likes of The Mummy and George of the Jungle. However, he later found himself "blacklisted" in the industry, claiming it was due to his claims he had been the victim of sexual abuse in the industry.
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Brendan Fraser won an Oscar in 2023 (Matt Baron/BEI/REX/Shutterstock)
He previously claimed he had felt blacklisted (AFP/Getty Images)In 2018, Brendan spoke to GQ and said his career "withered on a vine" after the alleged groping in 2003 by a big figure in the industry. He explained how the horrible situation had left him "miserable", "depressed" and somewhat of a "reclusive".
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Speaking of the incident with the publication at the time, Brendan said: "His left hand reaches around, grabs my a** cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around. 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... In my mind, at least, something had been taken away from me."
Brendan later revealed he had received a written apology regarding the incident, but claimed he found himself shut out from the HFPA and the Golden Globes awards which had him thinking he had been blacklisted.
However, last year marked his impressive comeback and he was visibly emotional during his acceptance speech. As he held his award, he joked: "So this is what the multiverse looks like!"
Brendan went on to say: "I thank the academy for this honour… Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship The Whale," before he later added: "I started in this business 30 years ago…there was a facility that that I didn’t appreciate at the time until it stopped.
Other actors who will present awards on the night include last year's big winners Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis.