The 'Whale' actor reveals he and the 'Bourne' star were completely nude while filming the shower fight between their characters in the 1992 film, which also starred Chris O'Donnell and Ben Affleck.
- Feb 9, 2023
AceShowbiz - Brendan Fraser has done a lot in his acting career, which has spanned over three decades, and that included getting buck naked in front of camera. The actor, who is currently on the awards circuit for his film "The Whale", has revealed that he and Ben Affleck were completely nude while filming the infamous shower fight between their characters in 1992's film "School Ties".
Calling it a "scary" experience to be fully nude on set, especially since "School Ties" was his very first film project, the 54-year-old said in a Tuesday, February 7 episode of "The Howard Stern Show", "It was scary. It's scary to do that." He confided, "When you're an actor, and you're starting off, you're ambitious and game for pretty much anything. They say jump, you say how high?"
Still, he "appreciated that this isn't really for wow or a scintillating factor of going, 'Hey, look at that. Naked people.' " The actors came to blow after Damon's Charlie Dillon tells the football team that their fellow teammate David Greene, played by Fraser, is Jewish.
Fraser explained what the shower scene signifies, "The point of it was that when Damon's character says what he says about David, he just reveals who he is. His anti-Semitism and his prejudice is stripped down naked and it's ugly. And the door is locked and they fight over it like shaved apes that need to be pulled apart because they've run out of things to say to one another, and it just turns into an ugly knuckle-dusting fit."
Fraser went comparing his character's storyline to his life as an actor. "Making' School Ties', in a way, I felt like David because his story is that he wants to belong. At some point in our lives or another, we've all felt like we've had our nose pressed up against the glass, and there's something keeping us out, and we want to be a part of what's in there," he explained.
The "Mummy" star elaborated, "In this case, David wanted to be a part of this school. He wanted the camaraderie, he wanted the glory that sport brought him. But it came at a cost, and the barrier was that he was Jewish, and their anti-Semitism kept him out. So for all that need of wanting to belong, I identified with that because I felt like I want to be a part of this Hollywood also. I don't know if I'm in the club or not... yet, if at all."
During the interview, Fraser also recounted his screen test for the role of David alongside Damon and heaped praise on his co-star's talent. "I just remember thinking, 'He's already got the job, and this is my shot here. Okay, don't mess this up, bring things down a size,' " he said. "I was used to being on stage at that point in my life and playing to the back row, and I knew that I needed to match pitch with Matt, so I felt like I was his wingman or something, and I think that's why I got hired."
The movie also starred Chris O'Donnell, Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp and Cole Hauser, who have since found their success over the years. "I was so happy for them," Fraser gushed.
