Before He Won an Oscar, Brendan Fraser Nailed This Wacky CIA Spy Character

The Big Picture

• Brendan Fraser has made a successful comeback with standout performances in recent projects like
  Trust
  .
• Fraser’s role as Chace in
  Trust
  showcases his unique brand of humor and warmth, standing out in the dark series.
• Chace’s character development in
  Trust
  mirrors Fraser’s personal journey, culminating in a brighter future amidst turmoil.

Award season can be a grueling period in the lives of moviegoers who are sick of hearing about the same actors over and over again. But, in the 2023 Oscar season, it was all worth it for the return of Brendan Fraser. While Darren Aronofsky‘s controversial drama The Whale may not have been everyone’s favorite film, it was heartwarming to see Fraser finally receive the recognition that he had most certainly been overdue for. The man behind Rick O’Connell from The Mummy franchise (the good one) had remained somewhat in obscurity for the better part of a decade after that series petered out, and his latter efforts with the family comedy Furry Vengeance and literary adaptation Inkheart took a serious critical beating and bombed financially. Where was Fraser in between? A fantastic GQ article shared some insights on what the former star dealt with personally during a challenging period, as Fraser had chosen to keep many of these details out of the public eye. As his emotional responses and acceptance speeches throughout the press cycle for The Whale confirmed, he didn’t ever expect to get a second chance.

While The Whale is certainly a “once in a lifetime” performance, it’s also a reminder that Fraser has still been turning out solid work for many years. In 2021, Fraser was seen as a member of the Detroit mob in Steven Soderbergh’s crime thriller No Sudden Move, and until November 2023 he continually delivered excellent work on DC’s dark superhero comedy Doom Patrol. In that same year, Fraser appeared in Martin Scorsese‘s Oscar-nominated Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, so it’s likely that the actor will once again walk the Oscars’ red carpet. It’s great to see Fraser return to prominence, and his due return was foreshadowed several years earlier when he delivered one of his best and most underseen performances ever. Fraser’s role in the FX miniseries Trust proved we should’ve been hip-deep in a Fraser-sance a long time ago. If you’re a fan of his work, Trust features an unmissable performance that only Fraser would have been capable of giving.

What Is Danny Boyle’s ‘Trust’ About?

Trust hails from filmmaker Danny Boyle and tells the story of notoriously shrewd billionaire John Paul Getty (Donald Sutherland) and his infamous refusal to pay the ransom for his grandson (Harris Dickinson) when he’s captured by the Italian mafia. If the story sounds familiar, it’s because the 2018 series debuted only months after Ridley Scott’s feature film All the Money in the World adapted the same story. Trust was ignored by many because it simply hit audiences second.

Fraser has a key supporting role in Trust as James Fletcher Chace, a former CIA spy who serves as Getty’s chief investigator into the kidnapping. Mark Wahlbergplayed the role in All the Money in the World, but Fraser’s performance is vastly different and significantly more interesting. If Wahlberg played Chace as a smooth-talking spy, Fraser does it as a bible-thumping Texas lawman whose deep Southern drawl sticks out like a sore thumb when he enters Italy during his search for the lost boy. Chace is largely relegated to the background in the pilot, but the second episode “Lone Star” is a showcase for the character as Chace attempts to confirm his employer’s suspicions that the ransom scheme is a hoax. Fraser peruses the Italian marketplace for the better part of 60 minutes, proceeding at a dawdling pace as he questions locals and chugs gallons of whole milk.

The pilot episode is a nail-biting thriller that diverges into a lurid evisceration of Getty’s greed, and “Lone Star” is an indulgence of a different type. Fraser has time to explain to the audience the reality of the mission, as the elder Getty doesn’t really care either way what his grandson’s fate is. Watching Chace drop cash in front of anyone who talks informs us how vast Getty’s resources are, yet how little he cares about actual clues. Fraser delivers a series of great one-liners, reflecting that not even the world’s wealthiest family can be saved from dysfunction.

Chace Stands Out in ‘Trust’ by Breaking the Fourth Wall

What makes Brendan Fraser’s performance in Trust so unique is that Chace breaks the fourth wall in order to deliver these expository lines. There’s thematic information to learn about the diminished faith in institutions during the mid-70s, and it’s way more interesting when it comes from Fraser’s wacky character. Chace inserts his own comedic commentary as he addresses the audience, giving off the vibe of a hapless bystander who has grown accustomed to his boss’s cruelty. The bored indifference within Fraser’s lines suggest that shocking expenses and disregard for human life are all in a day’s work under Getty’s employment.

Fraser’s humor is essential to what is generally a very dark show. John Paul Getty III is a victim of horrific violence as he’s passed between conspirators and confined to various prisons, and his torture becomes even more difficult to watch due to the added perspective of his mother Gail (Hilary Swank). Adding an overtly comic character was a risk, but Fraser pulls it off by giving the perspective of someone who didn’t come from wealth. He also adds comfort and security when needed; during the climactic exchange in the show’s penultimate episode “White Car In A Snowstorm,” he shares a few quieter moments with Gail as he reveals details about his own family.

Brendan Fraser’s Chace Is the Warmest Character in ‘Trust’

It’s hard not to think about Fraser’s own personal hardships when witnessing Chace’s development. Chace is often the warmest character on Trust, but he keeps any personal details closely guarded, apart from in the key scene with Gail. Seeing this empathetic character maintain his professionalism is rewarded in the show’s finale, in which Chace gets the chance to reunite with his son. As the Getty family’s dynamic grows even more fractured in the aftermath of the kidnapping, Chace’s future appears to be headed in a much brighter direction.

He’s also no buffoon, and while Chace initially appears to be clueless, he’s able to use his outward persona to gain critical information about the conspiracy. In the fourth episode, “That’s All Folks,” Chace is tasked with negotiating a truce with the Italian gangsters. He gets the kidnappers to let their guard down by suggesting that he’s simply a mindless ambassador with no will of his own. By being deceptively oblivious, Chace gains more negotiating power and is able to ascertain the location of Getty III. Gail’s unwavering dedication to finding her son gives Trust its heart, but Chace is the one who actually cracks the case.

From George of the Jungle to The Mummy: Tomb of The DragonEmperor, Fraser was, at one point, one of the most in-demand leading men in Hollywood. With his recent phenomenal performances, Fraser has somehow managed to reach those heights of stardom again, which is especially rare in an era when established franchises sell more tickets than famous names. The Whale was a notable box office success due to its minimal marketing campaign and extraordinary overperformance on a per-theater basis — audiences wanted to see Fraser specifically, and they couldn’t have been disappointed. By changing with the times and bringing his own unique charisma, Fraser has successfully transitioned into a character actor, and an Academy Award-winning one at that. As we reflect on the peak Fraser-sance and the ongoing success of Fraser’s recent projects, Trust is worth remembering as one of his best and most entertaining performances.

Trust is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

WATCH ON HULU