Brendan Fraser Keeps Doing This

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I hosted a Q&A with Brendan Fraser on stage after a screening of The Whale a couple of years ago, during awards season. The event was for members of SAG-AFTRA, so most of the audience was made up of actors. Fraser had already been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, but many people thought Austin Butler (for Elvis) or Colin Farrell (for The Banshees of Inisherin) would win. However, as soon as Fraser came on stage, it was clear he was the frontrunner. The audience was incredibly enthusiastic, and he captivated them for about half an hour, discussing not only The Whale but also his entire career. He’d found success early on – Encino Man came out when he was 23, and The Mummy made him a huge star by his early 30s. But because he’d experienced career setbacks, he really understood the struggles of working actors and the emotional rollercoaster of the profession.

Watching Japanese director Hikari’s new film, Rental Family, kept reminding me of a particular evening. The film stars Fraser as Phillip Vandarploeug, a lonely American actor in his middle years who lives in Tokyo and isn’t getting many good roles anymore. Years ago, Phillip briefly became famous in Japan for a series of silly toothpaste commercials where he played a superhero who rode a toothbrush. Now, he mostly goes to auditions he doesn’t get, or spends time on set pretending to be a plastic tree. Things take a strange turn when he’s hired to act sad at a funeral, only to discover the man in the coffin is actually alive. The whole event is a performance meant to help the man feel better about his life. This company, called Rental Family, arranges these unusual “specialized performances” to help people feel a sense of connection they’re missing. Sometimes these performances involve self-delusion, and sometimes they’re outright tricks. For example, one of Phillip’s first jobs is pretending to be the groom at a Japanese wedding. The parents want a happy memory and peace of mind, but the bride secretly plans to move to Canada with her girlfriend immediately after the ceremony.

Most of the film Rental Family centers on Phillip, who pretends to be the long-lost father of a young girl named Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman). Mia’s mother (Shino Shinozaki) hopes this will help her get into a prestigious school, as the application requires both parents to be present. Initially, Mia is upset with Phillip for having abandoned her family, but she gradually begins to like him. He enjoys being the “fun dad,” joining her at school events and taking her to festivals, though her mother cautions him not to become too attached, as he’ll eventually have to leave their lives. Throughout this, Phillip also poses as a journalist interviewing a former movie star (Akira Emoto) for a special tribute.

The show’s premise might stretch believability at times. While Rental Family maintains a light and upbeat pace with its cheerful music, this polish can raise questions. It feels unlikely that pretending to be someone’s family could be so simple, or that offering a fake job interview is genuinely helpful. Fake weddings are one thing, but a sham wedding with a complete stranger seems far-fetched. Plus, you’d think someone in Tokyo would eventually recognize the tall American actor known from popular commercials! The show is inspired by the real “rent-a-family” services available in Japan – a topic explored in a 2019 film by Werner Herzog and a 2018 article in The New Yorker (though parts of that article were later questioned). Despite some debate, the practice of renting family members appears to be genuine.

What’s refreshing about Rental Family is that it doesn’t try to portray Japan as strange or unusual. The idea of a ‘rent-a-family’ service is surprisingly complex – it’s a lot of effort to create something that feels fundamentally simple. What really stands out isn’t that people need connection, but that they’re willing to pay for it. Putting aside whether it makes sense, the concept gradually becomes quite appealing. Is it really so bad to pay someone to help fill emotional voids in your life?

The idea is gaining popularity, and Brendan Fraser’s natural charisma on screen likely plays a big part. The roles he’s taking on all highlight his friendly and kind personality. He portrays eager-to-please parents, respectful grooms, and curious, patient interviewers. (He even convincingly plays a supportive friend to a stranger.) This works because Fraser is Brendan Fraser – the genuinely warm and cheerful actor who stood out as a leading man when most others favored a brooding, intense style. From films like Encino Man and Blast From the Past to George of the Jungle, Fraser often played slightly naive characters, but they always radiated positivity. Even when audiences didn’t love his movies – and he’s been in some bad ones – it was hard not to like him, because he always seemed so approachable. This same quality made his performance in The Whale so powerful. Despite the film’s bleakness, his character desperately clung to a sense of innocence, even while facing his own destruction.

Phillip’s ability to be open and present – to truly see people – is central to his success as a fake father, journalist, and husband. It’s also what ultimately leads him to start believing his own lie: that he is a father to Mia. While this isn’t a surprising turn in the story – the film relies on it – Fraser’s performance makes it believable. You can see a childlike quality in his eyes and smile, hinting at how easily he gets swept up in the deception. The entire film revolves around make-believe; Phillip and Mia create imaginary worlds together, even physically building fantastical creatures and embracing playful disguises. The world of Rental Family is filled with superficial pleasures – karaoke, digital displays, and constant performance – mirroring the way many of us live. Everyone is, in a sense, pretending all the time, and Fraser perfectly embodies our desire to escape into these false realities. Interestingly, unlike most of us, his journey through this fakery actually leads to a kind of understanding.

Brendan Fraser has been consistently working with notable roles, including his appearance in Killers of the Flower Moon. However, he still possesses a unique, slightly unconventional presence. He’s agreed to star in a new Mummy film, and fans are hoping it captures the spirit of the 1999 original rather than the quality of the later sequels. While he’s no longer the action hero he once was, Fraser truly shines when playing kind and gentle characters – qualities that aren’t often prioritized in major blockbuster films. His Oscar win for The Whale was a fantastic career resurgence, but it was somewhat unexpected, as Fraser had previously been known for commercial successes, not critical acclaim.

This brings me back to thinking about Brendan Fraser and how perfectly suited he is for the role in Rental Family. While watching the film, I wondered where he’d go next, as roles this ideal don’t come along often. Interestingly, I had the same thought while watching The Whale. Sometimes an actor fits a part so well that it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing it, or even that actor in anything else. It’s unusual for this to happen even once, but it keeps happening with Fraser. It might sound strange, but perhaps there’s a unique space in modern cinema that only he can fill. Rental Family is a decent, if somewhat inconsistent, film about an American actor in Japan, but it’s also a captivating look at Fraser himself and one of the most unusual career paths I’ve seen.

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2025-11-21 22:55