Brendan Fraser Suggests He Didn't Do 'George of the Jungle 2' Because 'Studio Was Too Cheap to Hire Me'

Mar. 15, 2025

Brendan Fraser.Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Brendan Fraseris opening up about why he wasn’t part of the sequel to the 1997 movieGeorge of the Jungle.

“I thinkGeorgegot a remake, and they built a joke into it that the studio wastoo cheap to hire me, which wasn’t inaccurate,“The WhaleactortoldEntertainment Weeklyin an interview published Wednesday when asked about sequels for his past projects.

The 54-year-old actor continued: “I’m always making diverse choices, and, hopefully, that keeps me and an audience interested. With a bit of distance, I think they’ve all cumulatively led up to the place I’m in now.”

Representatives for Disney did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Fraser went to great lengths to play the titular role inGeorge of the Jungle.

Brendan Fraser in George of the Jungle.Hulton Archive/Getty

He talked about his experience getting ripped for the comedy film duringVariety’s Actors on Actors series. On it, he reunited withAdam Sandler, his costar inAirheads, a 1994 film about a rock band who holds a radio station hostage while they’re seeking their big break.

“I was waxed.Starved of carbohydrates,” Fraser said of doingGeorge of the Jungle. “I would drive home after work and stop to get something to eat. I needed some cash one day, and I went to the ATM, and I couldn’t remember my PIN number because my brain was misfiring. Banging on the thing. I didn’t eat that night.”

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“You made us feel bad about ourselves,” Sandler quipped. “Were you oiled up at all duringGeorge?”

In the film, Fraser plays George, a Tarzan-like comedic character taken from his jungle home and introduced to modern society. For much of the movie, Fraser wears nothing but a small loin cloth.

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“The wardrobe was there was no wardrobe,” Fraser told Sandler.

The movie follows Fraser’s character as he meets the new world and finds himself falling in love withLeslie Mann’s character Ursula, eventually choosing his jungle home over San Francisco.

source: people.com