Brendan Fraser while on the promotion and campaign trail for his movie The Whale, has discovered a surprising connection with another Oscar-nominated movie – Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans. In The Fabelmans, Mitzi (Michelle Williams) decides to get a monkey on a whim at one point. It turns out that the monkey actress, Crystal, got her big break in Brendan Fraser’s movie George of the Jungle way back in the late 90s.
Fraser and Williams were both on the Graham Norton Show, and Norton said; “There’s an odd link on the couch between The Fabelmans and Brendan Fraser. It is of course Crystal the Monkey! And Crystal the Monkey’s first job was … George of the Jungle.” And Fraser surprisingly responded; “It was that bitch! I knew it was her! She had a boyfriend called Mr. Binks, who I normally worked with.”
“Mr. Binks would throw a fit and disappear into the rafters if he didn’t get the take that he wanted. Because Mr. Binks was a boy monkey, he had to wear a boy bikini. He would get frustrated occasionally and rip it off, disappear into the ceiling and start jacking it!”
“The trainer would come out and shout; ‘Mr. Binks! You stop that right now!’ Mr. Binks couldn’t give a flying f-” Fraser then started throwing fruit around. Norton said; “He’s such a good actor now, he’s channeling Mr. Binks.”
The Fabelmans has been nominated for Best Picture, and Williams has been nominated for Best Actress, along with five other nominations. The Whale has three nominations, including one for Brendan Fraser. Fraser has experienced many ups and downs in the movie industry and people have been hailing his ‘comeback’ as a ‘Brenaissance.’
If you’re a fan of George of the Jungle, check out our guide to the best adventure movies.