Brendan Fraser's renaissance: The Hollywood star who disappeared but is now making a comeback

An emotional Brendan Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in Darren Aronofsky's 'The Whale'. 

In the film, based on the acclaimed play by Samuel D. Hunter, Fraser plays a 272kg morbidly obese English teacher near the end of his life, who attempts to reconnect with his teenage daughter (played by Stranger Things star, Sadie Sink). 

Fraser's performance, which has already received a lot of Oscar buzz, marks a triumphant comeback for the Mummy trilogy star, having not featured in a leading role since 2013. 

For a period of time, the American-Canadian actor could be seen on the big screen everywhere.

He became an A-list movie star in the late 1990s and early noughties, with major roles in films such as Encino Man (1992), George of the Jungle (1997), The Mummy (1999) and Crash (2004).

But in the mid-2000s, at perhaps the pinnacle of his fame and career, Fraser disappeared from Hollywood's spotlight completely. 

In a 2018 interview with GQ, Fraser came forward and said that he had been sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. 

He claimed that he was approached and inappropriately groped by Berk at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2003. 

"His left hand reaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around," the actor said. 

"I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry."

Despite sending Fraser a handwritten apology, Berk has denied the misconduct allegations, writing to GQ that "Mr Fraser's version is a total fabrication".

"My apology admitted no wrongdoing, the usual “If I've done anything that upset Mr.