The fan-favorite actor, who recently made a touching comeback thanks to his role in The Whale, was once noticeably absent from one of his classic franchises, and he’s finally opening up about the reason. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, when asked about potential sequels to popular past projects, Fraser said, “I think George got a remake, and they built a joke into it that the studio was too cheap to hire me, which wasn’t inaccurate.” He shared that Disney wanted him to reprise his role as the animal-raised jungle dweller in a formal sequel of the 1997 film, but couldn’t meet his salary requirements. As sad as viewers may have been to miss him, he didn’t feel it was a huge loss—especially after his diet for the original film had some concerning effects on his health. He continued, “I was approached. I can’t remember what I was doing at the time, but I felt like I wanted to go do The Quiet American instead with Michael Caine, and shoot the first Western film in Vietnam ever, directed by Phillip Noyce, to tell an infinitely American story.” He said he’s always “making diverse choices” in his projects to keep himself and the audience interested. “With a bit of distance, I think they’ve all cumulatively led up to the place I’m in now.” He explained, “Careers go up and down on a valley and peak trajectory, but I believe that it’s always in the ascendancy.” Without his career going exactly as it has, he probably wouldn’t be where he is today. “What’s important is that, either by design or accident, the amount of time it took for me to arrive at the place where I could faithfully play Charlie [his character in The Whale] with the dignity, authenticity, and honesty that it demands, may not have been at my disposal had I not gone on that journey.”
