Brendan Fraser Says Golden Globe Would Have Been A “Hood Ornament,” Rejects Boycott On His Behalf: “It’s My Fight”

Brendan Fraser still doesn’t know if his Golden Globes nomination for The whale was cynical or sincere, but either way, he says the win wouldn’t have been “meaningful to me.”

During his very first performance on The Howard Stern ShowBrendan Fraser opened up about his feelings about his nomination after the actual Golden Globes ceremony and discussed whether he thinks others should join a Hollywood boycott of the awards institution to support him.

“I don’t need everyone to show solidarity with me,” said the actor, adding that he believes this is his fight and “no one else’s.” But Fraser did acknowledge that joining him in his demands for real reform at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association would be a big — if optically complicated — step. “It would be a leap of faith for whoever that would be,” he explained. “It would be a calculated risk and it could also very easily be downplayed by the cynical view of it all.”

The Oscar nominee did not attend the awards ceremony in January after previously sharing that the HFPA had not meaningfully reconciled or apologized to him after he was allegedly groped by a now-suspended member. “Honestly, my mom didn’t raise a hypocrite, and I didn’t want to sit around and feel like I really don’t know if I want to do this,” he told Stern.

And while the actor didn’t win, he said he got the credit – which ultimately went to Elvis’ Austin Butler – not only did it mean so little to him, it also left him “wondering if this is a cynical nomination.”

“I couldn’t really say because of my history with them and because I have yet to see the results of their reform. We are all still waiting for that, to tell you the truth,” Fraser explained. “Get it or don’t get it, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it wouldn’t mean anything to me. I do not want it. I didn’t ask to be considered equal, that was supposed.

For Fraser, it may have been a moment of vindication, too. “They needed me, I didn’t need them,” he said. ‘Where shall I put that hood ornament? What would I do with that?”

As for how the HFPA might be able to “make amends” and its relationship with the Whale star, Fraser said it should start by issuing “an apology that made sense.” It would also include sharing the investigation they conducted into his complaints, “which they did on me and my family and my friends.”

“I never saw the result of that report. They wouldn’t give it to me, they said, no, it’s ours. So whatever it says, they don’t want me to read it,” he continued. “Instead, I got a press release saying it was a joke.”

While Fraser remains steadfast in his boycott of the press group behind the Golden Globes, he frankly says he “don’t even want to think about [the nomination] so much.” Instead, he took the time to celebrate something he felt was a step in the right direction for the awarding body.

“The good news is they did something significant on that broadcast and it changed the way I think about them: they put [Ukrainian President] Zelensky front and center,” the actor said. “They let him have the stage, and that’s a strong statement and something I can stand behind and support.”

At another point in the interview, Fraser spoke to Stern about Warner Bros.’s decision. Discovery to abolish HBO Max bat girl movie before it was finished. The actor, who was set to play the film’s villain, said it was a role he “loved” and was “really, really good on paper”.

“It was a story about a man who had been in the service and had his benefits cut and he was very angry with the system, and what was he supposed to do but burn it down?” Fraser said, visibly excited about the part. “You have some sympathy for him. You also have some humanity for him and on top of that a screw loose because you know he’s a bad guy. But is he really? All the best bad guys, you kinda like them.”

But when Stern asks if the movie will be released, Fraser – who says he hasn’t seen it, though he has friends, colleagues and associates – reveals he’s not sure, before defending the movie against reports that he poorly tested. with audience.

“They all say very good things about it. But the point was that it was screened in a garden variety test. It was a director’s cut. First cut. It wasn’t finished. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I don’t eat a half-baked cake. I don’t want to see something that isn’t ready,” he said. “And the sad thing is I don’t know if it was judged on merit. It was not shown in the best light it could have been.”

He goes on to say that once the finished film is out, “it’s open season to criticize or praise it”, but returns to the idea that “this didn’t even really get a fair shake”. But there’s another reason why Fraser is disappointed batgirl’The release’s future is bleak and it has more to do with star Leslie Grace, who called the actor “truly amazing” and a “dynamo.”

“Little girls will now have to wait longer before they see a Batgirl they can identify,” he said. “That says, ‘Hey, she looks just like me too’ in Leslie Grace.”