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Those playful words come from Rental Family star Brendan Fraser, the beloved actor that many of us feel like we have spent our entire lives watching up on the big screen. From his early roles in such films as Encino Man, School Ties, George of the Jungle and The Mummy, Fraser, 56, has made us laugh, cry and cheer for the good guy throughout his long and celebrated career.
More recently, the Indiana-born actor won the Oscar for his outstanding performance in 2022's The Whale - and now, Fraser takes on arguably his most compassionate character and story to date as Phillip in Searchlight Pictures' Rental Family.
Now playing in theaters, Rental Family is set in Japan and revolves around a struggling American actor named Phillip who comes across an unconventional rental service that allows him to utilize his communication skills, by filling a temporary yet life-changing void in people's lives.
Written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Hikari, Rental Family will remind moviegoers of the power and importance of human connection - a story that is so welcomed and needed within our often divisive and isolating real world lately.
Sitting down with Fraser in Los Angeles, California for our face-to-face conversation, I let him know that I saw Rental Family during its special screening at AFI Fest this past October, where Fraser, Hikari and his co-star Mari Yamamoto spoke and introduced the film to excited attendees.
So, how exactly did Hikari's Rental Family story initially get on Fraser's radar, and did he have any previous knowledge about this real-life service?
Fraser said, "No, it's all in the title - Rental Family. What is a rental family? I mean, I know in Tokyo, you can rent a Mario Kart. You can rent a hedgehog, if you want to. Why not rent a family? If you've got a need for that - someone to stand in, if only for a little while, does it do harm? I don't know. Hikari, our director, which means light, energy, fire, and that's who she is - is so skillful with this. She wrote the screenplay, too. I didn't know what a rental family agency was until she told me about it when we met."
After playing so many different characters throughout his filmmaking career, I wondered what it was about Phillip in the script for Rental Family that not only was something that Fraser wanted to play, but felt like he could embody him properly on-screen.
"He's a guy who's been out of the United States for the last seven or eight years, for some reason or another. He wants to start again. I think, in some way,we all kind of want to go somewhere new. Who knows what he's really possibly on the run from in his life,but he is definitely,whether he admits it or not,a man in search of himself.As it turns out,he's not alone,but it's a lonely existence to be in search of yourself in such a populous place as Tokyo,Japan,or anywhere in the world for that matter."
Fraser then added: "Joining up with a rental family agency would mean that he needs to have a certain set of skills. One of them is acting. Yes, he has made a name sort of for himself as the spokesman for a toothpaste company;as Mr.Clear Bright Man in a very popular Japanese commercial -but it’s just something that he did formerly when he first arrived;likely because he was the token white guy they hired.It put some money in his pocket.He’s not necessarily a very good actor,I posit,because we do see him playing a tree,but he finds that he’s actually really very good at the other part—which is connecting with people."
Not only does Fraser star in this lighthearted drama, but he serves as an executive producer. So, what does it mean to Fraser to also have a say behind-the-scenes at this stage of your career, to help put this film out in the way that he can with his Hollywood star power?
"I appreciate the respect shown to do that," Fraser said. "It's not easy to make movies these days. If you can help put your shoulder in it a little more to get them made, and certainly one as out of the ordinary as a movie about a rental family agency. The title could maybe lead to certain misunderstandings or even pejorative jokes, but this is not that experience. This is an agency, a type of business that does exist and has done since, I think, like the 1980s. There's probably more than 300 of these places now. Probably after this film comes out, there will be more."
Looking ahead within his Academy Award-winning career, I was curious of the types of stories, characters and genres that matter most to Fraser these days?
"To see something as out of the ordinary as this unique film is. I mean,it could very easily have been a script that was on the blacklist forever,but it’s not.It’s a very precise look at the dynamic of what happens when pretend or make believe or surrogacy abuts the reality in joining people’s lives in a capacity as a family member to fill that void.There is epidemic proportions of loneliness in Tokyo - any major city for that matter.Those have real world health concerns - mental health concerns,and it’s a point made in the film that Japan is a place that has certain stigma about contending with those issues.So,you know there’s a market per se for people to want to be able to connect in a meaningful way.If they can’t sit with therapists and doctors,etc.,they’re going seek it out any way that they can and this is a safe way to do it.”
When I tried to ask the Oscar winner one of my signature interview questions - Who is Brendan Fraser in 2025? - he quickly said, “Who am I? What you see is what you get, my friend.” So, I pivoted with the question, wondering if he feels like he is in a great place in his life today.
Fraser said,“I do. I feel like - What do I feel? I formerly felt like I had a lot to prove,and I did,and less of that now.Not from any position of arrogance or entitlement or anything like that,but I feel like I do feel comfortable knowing that - Okay,I had an affirmation and an accomplishment that was great -that was unexpected to me,but where do I go from here?The answer really is to just try and do what I had been trying to do all along—which is to continue learning—to feel like I have a sense of belonging in an environment where we create this kind of work.”
With moviegoers now able to witness Fraser's outstanding performance as Phillip and this original and heartwarming story from Hikari about human connection, what does he hope audiences take away from seeing this Rental Family story play out on the big screen and then bring into their own everyday lives?
"Call your grandma," Fraser said."Pick up the phone - call - or better yet, show up if you can.If it’s this Thanksgiving season when this film comes out on November 21 and your family is driving you up the wall, then come hang out with us in Japan."
While concluding my calm and comfortable sit-down interview with Fraser, I left this thoughtful creative with my signature question wondering what he would say to his Rental Family character Phillip if only he could.
"I think what he learned which is - You were enough all along. You just needed to look within. Come see the movie - you'll know what I'm talking about."