After 'The Whale,' Brendan Fraser Resurfaces with Another Oscar-Worthy Performance — This Time in Tokyo

Brendan Fraser may not be done with Oscar season just yet. After his acclaimed, Academy Award-winning turn in The Whale (2023), the actor has returned with a performance in Rental Family that’s already generating early awards chatter — and this time, the story unfolds in Tokyo. The film marks the second feature from Beef director Hikari and is shaping up to be something rather special: tender, humorous, and deeply human.

Fraser plays a down-and-out American actor adrift in Japan, who begins working for a company that provides 'rental family members' — yes, a very real and very curious Japanese service where actors are hired to play relatives or partners for lonely clients. What begins as performance gently slips into something far more honest and therapeutic. A curious premise, perhaps — but early screenings suggest it’s one that resonates deeply with audiences.

Those in the know are already calling it some of Fraser’s most affecting work to date — more layered, more lived-in, and, some say, even more compelling than his role in The Whale. Comparisons to The Holdovers and Little Miss Sunshine hint at the emotional register the film strikes: warm, bittersweet, and quietly triumphant.Could this quiet, character-driven film find its way into the awards spotlight? It wouldn’t be the first time a festival favourite from Telluride — where this one is expected to debut — gained real momentum during Oscar season.

Fraser has long been praised for bringing warmth and honesty to imperfect, human characters — and in Rental Family, he may have found one of his most touching roles yet. Playing a man who’s acting for a living, but slowly begins to reveal his true self? There’s something quietly powerful in that.