“A stranger in a strange land.” That's how Brendan Fraser describes his character Phillip in “Rental Family” - a story about a lonely American trying to live his life in Tokyo.
The film is a love letter to Tokyo - and to lonely people wherever they are, Fraser tells TT.
Phillip has left the United States. No one knows why. He lives alone and works his way through various jobs, including acting in a toothpaste commercial. One day he gets a job at a company that hires people to act as family members or friends when someone is missing.
Crying rental visitor
It can mean anything from pretending to be a little girl's absentee father to being a tearful visitor at a funeral. These "rental family" businesses are real and lucrative.
"The problem for Phillip is that he's far too sensitive. He engages with the people he meets in a way that goes beyond his mission," says Fraser.
He spent four months in Japan and says the stay changed him; he learned to appreciate things like politeness, curiosity, and looking for the positive.
There is a sense of camaraderie. When you meet someone and part ways, a Japanese person stands there looking after you until you have disappeared. It touched me in a way that surprised me. There is always a way to show kindness.
He says he had no problems adapting to Japanese culture.
My dad traveled a lot when I was little; the whole family moved with him. There were always new schools, new friends. That gave me a sense of personal security. So I had no problem adapting.
Won an Oscar
Brendan Fraser's career has fluctuated a lot, from the breakthrough with films like "George of the Jungle" and "The Mummy", to depression and few roles, to the Oscar he won in 2023 for the lead role as the enormously overweight man in "The Whale".
What did that prize mean? He laughs.
"That gave me this film. Getting films financed is really hard these days if you want to do something that's not just aimed at those who consume pop culture," he says, continuing:
I want to make films for cinema, so we can have shared experiences. And I think it's possible. This is cinema, not just a film.
Age: 57 years.
Family: Three children.
Lives: In New York.
Occupation: Actor.
Selected roles: "George of the Jungle", "Gods and Monsters", "Right Up in the 90s!", "The Devil and I", "The Mummy Returns", "The Quiet American", "Crash", "Journey to the Center of the Earth", "The Affair", "Condor", "Professionals", "The Whale", "Killers of the Flower Moon".
Current: In "Rental Family" which has its Swedish cinema premiere on 23/1.
