A Fall from Grace

During my childhood, Brendan Fraser was the biggest star on Television.

He first came into our awareness with the lead role in the 1997 hit movie, George of the Jungle.

With his photogenic face, beautiful hair and ripped physique, he drove us all nuts.

It was clear he was destined for greatness.

And yes, he did great things during his time in the sun…

and then…

Nothing…

He sort of disappeared.

No movie roles… No scandals… Just nothing.

As is to be expected with quiet falls from grace, the media carried all sorts of rumors.

In the absence of any statement from the man himself, they made up stuff.

Tongues wagged uncontrollably.

In reality, while he entertained us with his illustrious career through the 90s and early 2000s, he was dealing with a lot behind the scenes.

All those action scenes had taken a toll on his body and he was almost always in pain.

Fraser's body sustained severe damage that required frequent hospital visits over the next 7 years for various extreme surgical procedures including multiple back surgeries to address spine damage, a partial knee replacement, and a throat operation to fix his vocal cords.

These medical interventions came at a significant cost, and the New York Post (via the Huffington Post) reported that they resulted in financial challenges for Fraser, who in the wake of his divorce, was already obligated to pay a staggering $900,000 annually in alimony and child support payments.

When he was seen again in public, looking very different from the sex symbol the media were used to, he was body shamed for it with no thought to his personal struggles.

Other crazy things happened which I cannot even write here. It's on the internet.

However, he somehow began to find his way back in 2015 with smaller roles here and there.

And so when the news filtered in this morning that he just won this year’s Oscar for best actor, I was especially delighted.

It is indeed the comeback story we were all rooting for.

2020 - 2022 were quite the Tsunami.

Surviving the pandemic itself was a miracle, but the toll of living with its aftermath took many by storm.

I don’t know what your situation is and how you survived all the craziness, but 2023 is the first true post-pandemic year.

It’s comeback season.

Yes it’s understandable if there were projects you put on hold because the world had to figure out how to just not die.

That cloud has passed now.

Give those dreams another look.

You may think, “Well, those are in the past. It’s not the same. I don’t feel the same. I don’t even look the same”

Understandable… but irrelevant to your comeback story.

A conversation from George R.R. Martin’s book, A Song of Ice and Fire (A Game of Thrones), comes to mind.

I like that last part - “Every flight begins with a fall”.

The falling is done. It’s time for the flying part.

Talk soon,