After winning his first Oscar, Brendan Fraser had hit a career high - but his incredible streak of success seemed to come to an abrupt stop.
The actor, 54, had orchestrated an epic Hollywood comeback with his starring role in the 2022 film The Whale after around a decade out of the spotlight.
After also scooping both a SAG Award and a Critics Choice Award, fans of the film legend thought the success of his movie and the praise of his performance meant Brendan would be back on our screens on a regular basis.
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He did have a role in Martin Scorsese's flick Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Jesse Plemons, but once filming wrapped he was once again a free agent.
The Mummy star said he was 'really being picky' about what projects he was going to take on back in May, and the Hollywood writer strikes that brought the movie industry to a standstill only delayed his job hunt more.
But after a bit of time off and sticking to his guns about being choosy, Brendan has now landed his first big role since his Oscar win.
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The dad-of-three is reportedly set to star in the Tokyo-based comedy Rental Family, which follows a down-and-out American actor navigating his career in Japan.
The concept of 'rental families' was actually a real service and took the country by storm in the early 1990s.
It does what it says on the tin - lonely people would literally hire actors to play fake friends and relatives in their real lives.
Brendan is set to explore the strange service in his newest gig as his character accepts a role as the token American in a Tokyo rental family company.
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His bizarre job leads him on an unexpected journey of self-discovery through the roles he plays in other people's lives, Deadline.
Filming is said to begin in Japan this spring, as Brendan is said to have been unable to resist the role after reading the script.
Japanese filmmaker Hikari, whose work includes episodes of the Netflix show Beef, will direct Rental Family which has been in the works since 2019.
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I for one am looking forward to see Brendan offer himself up for rent - as well as his return to cinema.
He previously claimed that he had been 'blacklisted' from Hollywood, having struggled to land roles after huge success in the 1990s and 2000s.
The actor also alleged that he had been sexually abused by the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) Philip Berk.
Topics: Brendan Fraser, TV and Film, Oscars, World News
Olivia Burke