It’s been nearly twenty years since he rode high in Hollywood with “The Mummy,” Trilogy, and the ‘90s films that made him famous (“Airheads,” “George of The Jungle”), but Brendan Fraser has been experiencing the Brendassaince thanks to his comeback role in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” a performance he’s been Oscar-nominated for and arguably remains the frontrunner (he was nominated for a Golden Globe, but has no love for that organization).
And so, as is the case for anyone up for Best Actor or any other major award, Fraser is doing a ton of press. The actor recently showed up on the Howard Stern show, and Stern brought up a casting tidbit from ages ago.
You may not remember, but once upon a time ago, in the early 2000s, director J.J. Abrams (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) has written a “Superman” film (known as “Superman: Flyby” at the time) that many directors were circling. Eventually, Brett Ratner (“X-Men: The Last Stand”) was hired to direct the project, and dozens of actors were up for the part.
Stern brought this up and noted that Fraser was up for the gig, which the actor confirmed. “Everyone in town was reading for Superman,” he revealed (see the video below), recalling that the late Paul Walker was also up for the role. “Of course, it’s a life-changing, amazing opportunity, but I had to reconcile with, ‘Okay, say you do get the job to be the Man of Steel. It’s going to be chipped on your gravestone. Are you okay with that? You will forevermore be known as the Man of Steel.’ There was a sort of Faustian bargain that went into [the] feeling, and I think inherently, I didn’t want to be known for only one thing because I prided myself on diversity my whole professional life. I’m not a one-trick pony.”
This is not the first time names like Walker have come up. Revealed to be up for that part in the past includes actors like Josh Hartnett, Jude Law, Ashton Kutcher, and Matthew Bomer, among many others.
“The Mummy” actor admitted that he was both disappointed but a bit relieved he didn’t get the part because he himself was entirely convinced it would be a good decision. He said not getting the part “had to do with shenanigans and studio politics, and, probably, inherently, in my screen test. I think that’s why you test — they could kind of see I was only there like 98 percent instead.”
“Superman: Flyby” would eventually morph into Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” starring Brendan Routh and ultimately became an entirely different film in story, plot, tone, etc. Still, Fraser’s got his comeback, and that’s all that should really matter. Watch the video because he doesn’t seem too bent out of shape for losing the role anyhow.
