The Las Cruces International Film Festival (LCIFF) Creative Team has selected Brendan Fraser to receive its “Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment” award. The prestigious honor will be presented at a private reception on Thursday, March 9, 2017 (9:30 pm – 11:30 pm) for VIP ticket holders at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces. Also attending the reception are selected independent filmmakers and sponsors of the film festival.
Seamlessly transitioning from smart independent films to action-packed blockbusters, Brendan Fraser continues to garner widespread critical acclaim for his versatile, inspired performances as well as his keen eye for selecting thought-provoking material.
Brendan currently stars in the third season of Showtime’s award-winning TV show, “The Affair,” where he plays Gunther, a menacing security guard in the prison that Noah Solloway (Dominic West) is currently incarcerated in. Season 3 of The Affair premiered on November 20th, 2016. Most recently, Fraser was seen playing an arms dealer in the independent feature, “The Field,” a classic crime narrative which merges a dysfunctional, mafia family at war with each other as an undercover officer plots their downfall – which shot in India. He was also seen in the A&E mini-series, “Texas Rising,” starring alongside Bill Paxton, Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Olivier Martinez. Fraser also previously starred in the feature, “Gimme Shelter,” opposite Rosario Dawson and Vanessa Hudgens; voiced characters in two animated films as Scorch Supernova in The Weinstein Company’s “Escape from Planet Earth,” Open Road Films’ “The Nut Job,” with Will Arnett and Katherine Heigl and “Whole Lotta Sole,” a heist comedy directed
Most recently, Fraser was seen playing an arms dealer in the independent feature, “The Field,” a classic crime narrative which merges a dysfunctional, mafia family at war with each other as an undercover officer plots their downfall – which shot in India. He was also seen in the A&E mini-series, “Texas Rising,” starring alongside Bill Paxton, Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Olivier Martinez. Fraser also previously starred in the feature, “Gimme Shelter,” opposite Rosario Dawson and Vanessa Hudgens; voiced characters in two animated films as Scorch Supernova in The Weinstein Company’s “Escape from Planet Earth,” Open Road Films’ “The Nut Job,” with Will Arnett and Katherine Heigl and “Whole Lotta Sole,” a heist comedy directed by Terry George in which Brendan starred and served as Executive Producer.
Brendan made his Broadway debut, starring in the comedy “Elling,” based on the Norweigian novels by Ingvar Ambjørnsen. In 2010, Fraser was also seen in Summit Entertainment’s family comedy “Furry Vengeance” and “Extraordinary Measures,” a true story based on the efforts of John and Aileen Crowley to find a researcher who might have a cure for their two children’s rare genetic disorder.
In 2008, Fraser had an incredible summer at the box office. The Newline/Warner Bros. release of “Journey to the Center of the Earth” in 3-D, which he starred in and also served as Executive Producer, has grossed more than $100 million domestically. In “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” Fraser portrayed an archaeologist who finds himself on an adventure to the center of the earth with his nephew (Josh Hutcherson) and a scientist (Anita Briem) in search of his missing brother. The film is the first live-action feature to be filmed entirely in 3D.
Fraser is most well-known for his role in Universal’s Mummy Franchise as Rick O’Connell. Stephen Sommers’ 1999 smash hit action/horror adventure, “The Mummy,” was an ambition retooling of the 1932 horror classic, with Fraser cast as an America serving in the French Foreign Legion who becomes involved with an English archaeological expedition and the ancient secrets they unleash. In 2001, Fraser reteamed with Sommers and co-star Rachel Weisz on the film’s sequel, “The Mummy Returns.” In 2008, Universal released “Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.” The Mummy franchise has grossed $1.415 billion worldwide to date.
Fraser has been in a string of some of the most successful independent films of the past decade including Lionsgate’s Academy-award winning Best Picture “Crash,” directed by Paul Haggis; Phillip Noyce’s “The Quiet American,” based on Graham Greene’s 1955 thriller of the same name; and Bill Condon’s “Gods and Monsters,” opposite Sir Ian McKellen and Lynn Redgrave.
Other credits for Fraser include “Inkheart,” “GI Joe: The Rise Of the Cobra,” “The Air I Breathe,” “George of the Jungle,” “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” “Bedazzled,” “Monkey Bone,” “Blast From the Past,” “Dudley Do-Right,” “Mrs. Winterbourne,” “Encino Man,” “School Ties,” “With Honors,” “Airheads,” “The Scout,” and the Ross Marks directed film, “The Twilight of the Golds.”
Fraser’s diverse theatre roster includes his 2001 appearance at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, in London in the West End production of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Brendan also received high praise for his work as the anxious writer in John Patrick Shanley’s “Four Dogs and a Bone” at the Geffen Playhouse in which he co-starred with Martin Short, Parker Posey, and Elizabeth Perkins for director Lawrence Kasdan.
Born in Indianapolis and raised in Europe and Canada, Brendan has been dedicated to honing his craft since an early age of 12 and began attending theater when his family lived in London. He attended high school at Toronto’s Upper Canada College and received a BFA in acting from the Actor’s Conservatory, Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.
The Las Cruces International Film Festival presented by New Mexico State University will be held March 8 – 12, 2017 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Las Cruces International Film Festival aims to bring the best of international cinema to the thriving film community of Las Cruces, NM. With an eye towards connecting filmmakers with diverse and eager audiences, the LCIFF will feature workshops, exhilarating after parties, and unparalleled access to some of the most exciting venues in Las Cruces. Film submittals, tickets and general information may be viewed at www.LCIFFEST.com.
For Press Matters, please contact Dr. Michael Evans.
