Brendan Fraser says he’s currently unemployed months after Oscar win: ‘I’m really being picky right now’

Brendan Fraser has admitted he has nothing in the books at the moment, despite his career renaissance.

In March, the 54-year-old actor completed an incredible Hollywood comeback with his Oscar win for Best Lead Actor for his starring role in Darren Aronofsky’s drama The Whale.

His celebrated victory came after he stepped out of the spotlight for some years to deal with a series of personal issues, including divorce, his mother’s death, health problems and an alleged assault by the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

On Thursday (4 May), Fraser spoke with journalist Hannah Storm at the Greenwich International Film Festival’s opening Inspiration Talk and award ceremony.

Asked if he had any future roles lined up, according to People, he said: “At the moment, I don’t have anything – I’m really being picky right now.”

He then joked that he had “read the trades the other day” and “apparently, I’m going to have to pick up a picket sign”.

“It might be a long summer,” he quipped, referencing the Writers Guild of America strike.

Find a list of every TV show affected by the writers’ protest here.

Fraser did, however, address his role in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, which will make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in a few weeks.

“I will tell you that I’m excited to see it myself,” he said. “We were working in really hot weather in Oklahoma, and I can’t oversell my participation in this film because it’s epic.

“There’s so many actors in this movie when you see it. I’ll arrive for a scene or two at the end,” he teased.

Fraser first broke out in the early Nineties with the comedy Encino Man and the drama School Ties, before going on to become a household name for George of the Jungle and The Mummy trilogy.

He also did dramatic turns in Gods and Monsters, The Quiet American and 2006 Best Picture winner Crash.