Brendan Fraser and Dwayne Johnson Open Up About Their Life-Changing MUMMY Friendship and the Lessons That Shaped Their Careers

When Brendan Fraser and Dwayne Johnson first crossed paths on The Mummy Returns, neither could have predicted how deeply that meeting would anchor their personal and professional journeys.

The 2001 sequel was the height of Fraser’s action hero era, and it marked Johnson’s leap from WWE superstardom into Hollywood. Decades later, both actors are receiving emotional festival ovations for Rental Family and The Smashing Machine, and their reunion conversation, hosted by Variety, shows how much that early connection still matters.

Their exchange is warm, candid as they touch on vulnerability, loneliness and the grind of proving oneself. It also highlights how two performers built on-camera careers rooted in physical power yet grew into artists willing to reveal what hurts beneath the surface.

Johnson begins their conversation by acknowledging what Fraser did for him before he ever earned a closeup. He said: “You and I first connected on The Mummy Returns. That was one of the biggest franchises in the world at that time.

“I was ready to make my transition into Hollywood. And there was a moment where you could have said, ‘This guy, Dwayne Johnson, he’s never acted before; he’s in pro wrestling.’ The word I got back was, ‘Brendan loves the idea.

“He welcomed you with open arms.’ It meant something to me, because you took a risk on me, and years later, you and I are sitting here. I want to thank you for really changing my life.”

Fraser remembers it just as clearly, and his response shows how naturally he recognized Johnson’s potential. He replied, “When I was told that you were a possibility for it, forgive me, but I didn’t know you from the wrestling world.

“And when I was shown, I said, ‘That is inspired casting. We’d be lucky to get the guy.’ You need a stadium persona to play a villain you love to hate. It’s going to take a lot of confidence and belief. In the wrestling world, you were painting with a 10 inch brush, you need to have big energy.”

That foundation of respect carried into the present, where both actors have taken on emotionally heavy roles that challenge their image in thrilling ways. Johnson describes the surreal moment at the Toronto Film Festival for The Smashing Machine, where he suddenly found Fraser blocking foot traffic just to give him a hug.

Fraser had been moved not by the physicality of Johnson’s performance but by the emotional weight under it. As he told him, “You nailed it, dude. You got me in the feels. Not only the physical pain, which was formidable... but the real pain was the emotional stuff.”

Their conversation touches on the strange loneliness that can exist even in loud, high profile careers. Johnson reflects on a quote from heavyweight boxer Floyd Patterson about losing and wanting to disappear, adding, “There was a connection to my life, things could be so loud and noisy in our world, but at the same time, we can feel lonely. We can feel alone.”

Loneliness is something Fraser tackles in Rental Family, where he plays an actor in Tokyo hired to provide human connection. He explains, “He’s got such solitude in such a busy, populous place...

“People feel a need for connection in a meaningful way, even if it’s make believe. Even if it’s only for a little while and you’re paying for it. Loneliness seems like a simple enough thing to ameliorate, but until you really feel it, you’re not going to know exactly what it can do to you.”

Fraser’s stories about working with Japanese screen legend Akira Emoto highlight the film’s emotional texture. He shares, “Every morning at 8am., he has a free performance that he gives... One morning I went, he was reading this 15th century shogun’s shopping list.”

Johnson calls Emoto “a legend,” and notes how deeply the film’s themes of memory, connection and loss hit him personally.

The emotional resonance extends to Fraser’s young co-star Shannon Mahina Gorman, who brought her own experiences of being made to feel “other” into her role. Fraser recalls her showing up to rehearsal saying, “I’ve been bullied.”

He adds, “It was so available, that we had to stop rehearsing, because we didn’t want to play our game in the locker room.”

Fraser then opens up about the moment he realized he needed to reassess his career and learn to stop pushing himself past the breaking point. He describes filming a small movie in Ontario around 2007 to 2009, doing dangerous physical work while concealing real pain.

“The movie ended and I thought, ‘I’m getting too old for this shit. It’s starting to catch up with me. If I’m going to continue, I have to have a real reckoning with myself about why I am getting banged around and bruised.’

“I had to actually ask myself a serious question that I’d been avoiding: Why am I doing this? I had to take ownership of the reason, and that was that I was trying too hard.”

That resonated with Johnson, who understands what it means to look strong while feeling anything but. Fraser continues, “I was feeling like, unless it hurts, then I’m not earning my keep.”

He ties that directly to what he saw in The Smashing Machine, saying, “The stoicism seems harder than the loss. That was when I went, ‘Oh, man, Dwayne, you’ve done it.’”

Their discussion eventually circles back to The Whale, the performance that earned Fraser his Oscar. He describes shooting it during COVID, in a confined space that mirrored the world’s locked down emotional state.

“If I’m going to do this, I’m going to go down swinging. I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. When I finished, I felt like, ‘Well, I am all out of moves. If it doesn’t land, I guess I’ll crack open the Yellow Pages and go look for a marketing job or something.’”

Fraser then thanks Johnson for publicly supporting him during the film’s Venice premiere, saying, “Dwayne, you’re a godfather of sorts of the success of that project. Thank you for that.”

Johnson tells him, “I was in tears when I watched you,” and admits that witnessing Fraser’s ovation inspired him to pursue the kind of role that would push him just as far.

When Johnson finally experienced a similar reaction to The Smashing Machine, he says, “I was living my dream, not others’ dreams... That was my exhale. I felt like I’d never exhaled like that in my career.” Fraser relates completely, telling him that every choice, good or bad, leads an actor to the moment where everything clicks.

What a great conversation between these tweo actors. Their careers may have exploded in wildly different directions since The Mummy Returns, but their shared experiences of reinvention, pain, connection and hunger for authentic storytelling bond them in a way few friendships in Hollywood ever manage.

Johnson sums it up perfectly when he reflects on Fraser’s renewed drive. “When I saw you win, I thought, ‘Oh, if you think he’s not going to be hungry anymore, that is not him. You’ve made him hungrier.’”

And Fraser, still searching for meaningful work, responded, “Most actors, the secret is, we would be doing this whether they paid us or not. I love it. And you have to take ownership of who you are, what you’re capable of, and have the courage to continue.”

Their conversation is a reminder of why fans fell for them decades ago and why audiences are celebrating them now. Two larger than life figures, finally comfortable revealing what it took to become the artists they always hoped they could be.