The Truth About Brendan Fraser And Leslie Mann's Relationship
Fans might be fiercely loyal to Brendan Fraser and very protective of him, but no one loves The Mummy actor more than Leslie Mann.
Back before Fraser withdrew from the spotlight (and ultimately lost his $45 million net worth), he was one of Hollywood's most bankable leading men, appearing in some of the best action films in the early 2000s. He was the action hero in The Mummy trilogy, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and George of the Jungle, and he always got the girl.
While we love the romance between Fraser's Rick and Rachel Weisz's Evie in The Mummy, no other romance is as iconic as Fraser's George and Mann's Ursula in George of the Jungle. And apparently, there was some off-screen romance too.
Here's the truth about Mann and Fraser's relationship.
Mann Had The Biggest Crush On Fraser
In a video for NewBeauty magazine, Mann was asked which character she enjoyed playing the most. She said Ursula from George of the Jungle.
"I had a huge crush on Brendan Fraser. He was like naked all day long, and I enjoyed that, and I was with Judd at the time!" Mann revealed, laughing.
She wasn't joking. In an appearance on Busy Tonight, Mann reiterated her sentiments about Fraser. Busy Philipps casually brought up that Mann had a work cush back in the day. Right away, Man said it was Brendan Fraser even though she was with Judd Apatow during filming and married him about a month before the film came out in the summer of 1997.
"You thought you'd-" Philipps started to say. "That I'd marry Judd-Brendan," Mann laughed. "Because why?" the host asked.
"Because well he was just delightful and funny, and I was supposed to fall in love with him, and so I just fell in love with him in real life," Mann confessed. "I was like, Judd, I love Brendan. And he was like, I know. Stop it. I'm like, really, I think that I love him. And I started getting really weird around him."
Philipps asked if she ever told Fraser about her crush. She revealed that Fraser used to greet her with a kiss on the lips before getting ready for the day.
"Every morning before work, we were in the hair and makeup trailer getting ready. And he would come in and kiss me on the lips," she told Philipps. "Just like, 'Good morning!' And kiss. You know, like he's European or something."
Mann excepted every one of those early morning kisses and got used to them. Until one morning, Fraser chose the wrong moment to surprise attack Mann with a kiss. Suffice to say, the kisses stopped after that, to Mann's dismay.
"He caught me off guard! I took a big bite of oatmeal, and he was right behind me…And he went in to kiss me, and my lips had like a sticky oatmeal film on them," Mann remembered. "Never kissed me again after that."
"Wait, I wonder if he remembers," Philipps said, and all of a sudden, Fraser himself came out to give his version of events. Mann was shocked.
Fraser Had His Own Story To Tell
When Fraser came out, he was a gentleman about the whole thing. He wiped his lips and smiled coming out, referring to the oatmeal incident, and Mann laughed.
"Did you know I was in love with you?" Leslie asked as Fraser gave her a bouquet of peonies. He didn't respond, but he did joke, "It was maple oatmeal," he replied. "I don't like maple syrup."
"You decided not to kiss me after that?" Mann asked. "I thought I was getting too close, what with your breakfast being all yours," Fraser said.
"I called Judd, and I was like, 'Did you know this,' he's like, 'Oh yeah, Leslie's in love with Brendan," Philipps said. When she revealed her plan to surprise Mann on the show, Judd said that'd be fun. Apparently, he wasn't too worried about his wife going off with her once crush.
"Did you know I was in love with you back then?" Mann asked again. "Do you remember that scene where we had to say, we were on a log, and we were on a stage, and I had to tell you I loved you? And I would start to well up because I did love him! And he's like, 'Are you okay, what's wrong?' And I was like, 'I just need a minute.' Do you remember that?"
"Yes, I do," Fraser admitted. "Because I was actually in love with you," Mann said. "But how can you not be in love with Leslie Mann?" Fraser sweetly replied. "Should we date?" Mann asked.
Fraser revealed another great behind-the-scenes moment. He and Mann had to sit in this mud spa all evening for a scene that was cut.
"While we were there, I look up, and I could see through the greens in the bushes, and there's this guy there," Fraser said. "And he's looking at me. I know that look. I know men. I didn't know who it was. And then 40-Year Old Virgin came out, and suddenly I realized that was Judd Apatow."
"He was keeping an eye on you because he knew," Mann laughed. "Because he loves you," Fraser said. Fraser joked that he still hasn't worked with "Mr. Apatow."
Fraser also came with another gift for Mann to help her remember those fond days on George of the Jungle. He brought her his "butt flap" that he wore on the film. Isn't Fraser just the best? We didn't know we could love him anymore. So, yeah, Mann is Fraser's number one fan.
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