If you thought Brendan Fraser’s last name was pronounced like the name of the popular ’90s sitcom “Frasier,” prepare for your brain to feel as mixed up as tossed salad and scrambled eggs.
“The Whale” star told Adam Sandler during their “Actors on Actors” conversation for Variety last week that Sandler — and, well, everyone — has been saying his name incorrectly his entire career.
“It’s Fraser,” the “George of the Jungle” star said, pronouncing it like the word razor. “You shave with a razor,” Fraser said, doing a pantomime of himself shaving his face before reaching his hand out to a bearded Sandler and joking: “You should try standing closer to it.”
Yet, despite Fraser’s mnemonic device, elsewhere in the interview Sandler mispronounced Fraser’s name again. But eventually Fraser completely gave up.
“OK. Fuck it,” Fraser said, defeated. “No one’s ever gotten my name right.”
“Brendan Fraser!” Sandler then yelled, pronouncing it the correct way.
“See, that didn’t feel right,” Sandler admitted afterward.
“It felt good, though,” an exasperated Fraser said. “As long as people are saying it.”
“The Mummy” star’s willingness to cut Sandler a bit of slack makes total sense. During their mutual interview, Sandler revealed to Fraser that he threatened to quit their 1994 film “Airheads” unless director Michael Lehmann promised to hire Fraser for the lead role.
“I eventually went to his house, like four in the morning, woke him up … I said … ‘Just know Adam Sandler ain’t going to be in “Airheads” unless old Fraser is in it.’ So he changed his little tune,” Sandler said — pronouncing Fraser’s name correctly.