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Is Brendan Fraser really Hollywood's nicest guy? It seems that The Whale and Mummy star has indeed made a lot of friends in the business. Not because he's good at playing "the game", but because he is an authentic, soft-spoken, and kind-hearted man. At least, this is what many of his co-stars have said. This includes his Mummy co-star Rachel Weisz and his Airheads co-star, Adam Sandler. But what did Elizabeth Hurley think?
In 2000, Fraser and Hurley co-starred in Harold Ramis' Bedazzled, a remake of Stanley Donen's 1967 movie. The film follows a man who makes a Faustian bargain with the devil. Of course, this comes back to bite him in the butt. In this version, the Austin Powers star and former longtime girlfriend of Hugh Grant plays the devil and she is nothing short of superb in the role. In fact, her chemistry with Fraser is downright undeniable. But did it translate off-screen?
How Elizabeth Hurley Was Cast In Bedazzled
In an interview with Vulture, Elizabeth Hurley revealed that when Harold Ramis's Bedazzled came along, she didn't have to audition anymore. This was due to the success of Austin Powers, which came out right before.
"I suddenly got the call to come have a chat with the now-late Harold Ramis, the director, who was just this wonderful man. 'They want you to play the devil with Brendan Fraser!'" Elizabeth Hurley explained to Vulture. "I flew to L.A. and had this lovely chat with Harold and we agreed to go ahead. It was a really exciting time. It was such a big part, and Brendan Fraser was such a big star, and Harold was such a huge guy — and it was shooting for Fox, on the Fox soundstage every day. It’s very exciting when you drive through those big studio gates for the first time."
While the prospect of taking on such a large comedic part was daunting for Hurley, she ultimately rose to the occasion, reportedly beating out numerous other major actors for the part, including Uma Thurman, Julianne Moore, and Madonna.
What Elizabeth Hurley Really Thinks About Brendan Fraser
In her interview with Vulture, Elizabeth Hurley admitted to "tormenting" Brendan Fraser on the set of Bedazzled. Mostly because it made sense for their character dynamic. Of course, this was all in good fun as the two had an incredible relationship on set. While they didn't keep in touch after the film, they did reunite at a screening of 2022's The Whale, Fraser's "come back" film.
"We adored each other," Elizabeth Burley stated to Vulture of her time working with Fraser on Bedazzled. "He’s such a great guy and quite shy in real life. Obviously, his character is very shy, too, and obviously, my character tortured him onscreen, so I did torture and tease him a bit, in the best possible way."
Despite not keeping in touch after making the 2000 Harold Ramis film, Elizabeth Hurley has something she sees every day that reminds her of Brendan Fraser.
"At the end of the movie, it’s traditional that leading characters give each other little gifts," Hurley explained to Vulture. "He gave me this little Victorian silver bell. I had that little bell on my dining room table — not that I have anyone to call with my bell, by the way — and I see it every single day. I think of Brendan every single day. It just says, 'Ring and I’ll be there,' or something else so sweet."
"He was one of my favorite costars," Elizabeth Hurley said during an interview with People. "Brendan and I got on so fantastically when we shot Bedazzled and then didn't speak. We didn't speak at all until I got invited to this screening of The Whale."
Their 2022 reconnection was not only due to the success of The Whale but because of a mutual friend who passed notes between them. It seems Hurley is thrilled to have reconnected with Fraser for a variety of reasons, including the fact that she gets to see him at the top of his game.
"I just was so bowled over by how fabulous he is in this movie," Hurley said of Fraser's performance in The Whale, according to People. "And Brendan is one of the nicest human beings you could ever meet and I'm just so happy for him that he's just had this opportunity to shine again."
Of course, Hurley also addressed the so-called "Brendan Fraser renaissance" in her interview with Vulture.
"The thing is, Brendan never really went away. He always work," Hurley said to Vulture. "Sometimes that happens with actors — you don’t happen to be doing massive jobs that everyone knows about. But he certainly worked; I had a lot of friends who worked with him on things over the years. Having him now back at the top is just fantastic. He never deserved to leave it. He was and is a brilliant actor. To have that again and to find that part where he really shows everybody what they fell in love with the first time around is just fabulous. That’s a Hollywood story."