Everyone loves a comeback story, and the recent return of Brendan Fraser to Hollywood prominence has probably been the favourite one of thousands of film fans all over the world. Following a career decline due to traumatic personal events, Fraser has worked his way to the top of the industry by winning a ‘Best Actor’ Oscar for his incredible performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale.
In addition to collaborating with Steven Soderbergh on No Sudden Move, Fraser also appeared on Martin Scorsese’s latest feature, Killers of the Flower Moon. Demonstrating that he still has the acting chops to perform at the highest level, the Encino Man star is on the radars of some of the most exciting filmmakers in the world right now. That’s exactly why the renewed interest in Fraser’s career has led many fans to explore his past.
During a conversation with A.Frame about his resurgence, Fraser opened up about the cinematic masterpieces that shaped his journey as an artist. While the actor cited classics like Bambi and George Lucas’ first Star Wars movie, he singled out one war film as a significant influence on his formative years. That project is none other than Oliver Stone’s Platoon, a critically acclaimed portrait of some of the harrowing events that took place during the Vietnam War.
When asked about how Platoon shaped his consciousness, Fraser responded that he felt a camaraderie with the characters because of how close they were in age. He began: “When I was a teenager, I saw Platoon and went, ‘Holy smokes.’ I was just blown away. I don’t remember feeling like I was really in the thick of the s**t until I saw that movie. Again, I think maybe I liked it so much because, in a way, the platoon’s like an ensemble.”
Fraser added: “There’s a team of guys; they got to get through something together and rely on one another’s unique strengths. And it struck a chord with me at the time because I was very similar in age to a lot of the guys depicted on that screen. It made me think, ‘Wow, that could have been me.’ It hit home in a way. It was visceral, if I’m honest.”
Widely regarded as one of Stone’s finest achievements, Platoon is so effective because it is partly based on the director’s own experiences in Vietnam. Instead of heavy-handed explorations of one of the 20th century’s defining events, it presents a morally complex vision of the terrifying reality that the people on the ground encountered.
Watch the trailer below.
