Brendan Fraser's Health Took A Beating Due To His Commitment To Doing His Own Stunts

Actor Brendan Fraser, who is best known for action movies such as "The Mummy," as well as his Oscar award-winning turn in "The Whale," now says that doing his own stunts in his earlier movies may have been a mistake. In a GQ profile (via People), the star said, "I believe I probably was trying too hard, in a way that's destructive. By the time I did the third Mummy picture in China [in 2008] I was put together with tape and ice."

Detailing the extent of his injuries, Fraser said he has had several surgeries. One of these procedures included a laminectomy, which is performed to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves (tips for recovery from back surgery). He also had a partial knee replacement, surgery to bolt together compressed spinal pads, and vocal cord repair. Altogether, Fraser said he spent seven years undergoing hospitalizations to repair the damage. He additionally revealed that his health problems were one of several factors that led him to withdraw from making movies for a period of time before returning for his triumphant comeback in "The Whale." (Have you injured your back? These are the signs that you need to see a spine specialist.)

In a piece for MovieMaker, Kirk Caouette, who has worked for decades as a stunt performer and co-coordinator, described stunt work as "the only job in the world with a 100% injury rate." So why would an actor, who could easily allow the professionals to take the risk, do his own stunts? In an interview with The Telegraph, Fraser revealed that he felt uncomfortable with how easily his $10 million paychecks were coming to him, so "those physical performances, whether fighting, dancing or comedy, had an element of self-sacrifice," he said.

Fraser said in the same interview that"self-loathing" was also a factor in his decision to do his own stunts. "I think on some level I felt I deserved [a beating], and wanted to be the one who got in the first punch," he told the news outlet.

As the actor preps for the fourth installment of "The Mummy," it appears that he has likely learned his lesson about performing his own stunts. When Happy Sad Confused host John Horowitz (via IGN) asked in 2024 about the upcoming film, he said he would be using stunt men. "Absolutely. That's what they have stunt men for," Fraser said. "One of my favorite things to say is, 'Dude, you're gonna be awesome in this shot!'"

Speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about his 2025 appearance in "Rental Family," Fraser waxed philosophical about what he has learned over the years. "For all the times, you doubted yourself, there is the flip side," he said. "For all the times you've said, 'I don't know what I'm doing' or 'I'm not good at this' — the answer is you are good enough. You are better than good enough. You've got it. You've got this. This is your role of a lifetime." So, it would appear that Fraser has finally realized that he deserves all of the career success that he has achieved.