Brendan Fraser is accustomed to being underestimated Until recently, he was never looked at as that kind of actor – the kind that’s considered a major contender during awards season. That all changed thanks to his seminal Oscar-winning performance in “The Whale” (from director Darren Aronofsky). But the truth is that he’s been a quality actor for a long time, and if his Big Moment wasn’t necessarily inevitable, it was perhaps overdue.

The actor who was born on December 3, 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana has been best known until now for starring in the “The Mummy” franchise. But Fraser has been a consistent presence on screens big and small for three decades, going back to his days headlining agreeably lowbrow comedies like “Encino Man” from 1992 and “Airheads” in [94. He also had a role in a Best Picture Oscar winner (2004’s “Crash”) and a pair of dramas that drew universal critical praise (“Gods and Monsters” from 1998 and “The Quiet American” from 2002). If Fraser ran into a bit of a slump over the past 15 years or so,...