Brendan Fraser to Dwayne Johnson: 'I owe you'

Brendan Fraser has nothing but praise for Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, with whom he has worked in The Mummy Returns.

“I owe you a debt of gratitude because when I took The Whale with [director Darren Aronofsky] and the crew to Venice, and they applauded for a very long time and stayed on their feet," the actor says, referring to a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival in 2022, adding, "I’d never been there before. I didn’t know the whole ritual of it."

“I was in tears when I watched you,” the former WWE star replied, who at the time shared the clip on X of Brendan, which went viral on social media.

This support, the Mummy star says, helped build buzz for his road to winning the Oscar for Best Actor.

“I know! And you put your shoulder into that by showing your support through Twitter,” he shares. “Dwayne, you’re a godfather of sorts of the success of that project. Thank you for that.”

In response, The Rock shares, “Look, I’m happy to support you. But also, that moment rocked me, and it moved me.”

It is worth noting that Brendan won his first-ever Academy Award for his performance in The Whale in 2023.