"George of the Jungle" star Brendan Fraser has apologized to San Francisco for a stunt in his 1997 film that caused massive traffic jams and a media frenzy.
For the sequence, Fraser's character, a Tarzan-like George, climbs atop the Bay Bridge to rescue a tangled parachuter. Speaking with SFGATE, Fraser explained that Disney had used a mannequin for the parachuter but the scene still had the public convinced it was a real-life rescue. It caused a massive sensation.
"It brought traffic to a standstill on either side of the bridge," he said, explaining that he was watching it all unfold from his trailer which was "on the other side in a parking lot." Presumably, Fraser's double was performing the stunt.
"There's this dummy parachutist hanging from it [Bay Bridge]," he continued. "I had the TV on, and 'Oprah' got interrupted because there was a special news report with helicopters saying a parachute is dangling on the bridge. And I'm going — wait a minute, I'm looking at the helicopters and TV — somebody didn't pull a permit, somebody's going to get in trouble with the mayor's office. So I can only apologize for that."
While Fraser's career is punctuated with light-hearted roles in films such as "George of the Jungle," "California Man," the adventure series "The Mummy," and "Journey to the Center of the Earth," he recently gained attention for taking on a more serious character in Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale."
In the film, Fraser plays a reclusive obese man who teaches online English courses with his webcam turned off. Fraser fully immersed himself in the character and while it took a toll, the actor told Vanity Fair earlier this year that he wanted to make it count.
"If there's no risk, then why bother?" he said. "I want to learn from the people I'm working with at this point in my career. I've had such variety, a lot of high highs and low lows, so what I'm keen for, in the second half of my time doing this, is to feel like I'm contributing to the craft and I'm learning from it.
"This is a prime opportunity. I wanted to disappear into it. My hope was that I would become unrecognizable."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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