Brendan Fraser's richly deserved comeback crested last March when he won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale." It was the end of a long, hard road that began in the 2000s with a messy divorce, an alleged sexual assault at the groping hands of the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and a deep depression caused by the death of his mother. Fraser had gone from being one of the most exciting talents of his generation to a C-level movie star.

That generation included Chris O'Donnell, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck, all three of whom co-starred with Fraser in the 1992 antisemitism drama "School Ties." They were all often in competition for the same roles, but they eventually made their own way in the industry. Fraser's square-jawed good looks and comedic gifts landed him leading roles in "The Mummy" and "George of the Jungle," but he also earned raves for his portrayal of Brick in a 2001 London production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

Fraser's gratitude for his resurgence 20-plus years later has been a joy to behold. And his generosity to his fellow actors in the past has been returned in kind. For evidence of this, you need look no further than his interaction with Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon."

Who's This Leonardo DiCaprio Guy?

In a 2022 profile for GQ, Fraser shared a story about meeting DiCaprio on the Paramount lot after a screening of Lasse Hallström's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Though DiCaprio had turned in a spectacular performance in Michael Caton-Jones' adaptation of Tobias Wolff's "This Boy's Life" a year prior, the film was curiously brushed aside by the studio and critics. So when he took on the role of the intellectually disabled Arnie in Hallström's film, there was a sense of discovery.

There was also a touch of pandering expressed by the film's admirers. DiCaprio was 19 years old when the film was released, but he looked much younger than this. He had a babyface, one he wouldn't fully shed until the early 2000s (circa Scorsese's "The Aviator"). As a result, people treated him as a child actor, a precocious talent who was more instinctive than trained. He could be the next Timothy Hutton or a film history footnote like Justin Henry.

A Kindness DiCaprio Never Forgot

Fraser did not patronize DiCaprio after the screening. He was moved by the young man's performance and lauded him with the warmth and respect of a fellow artist. As Fraser told GQ:

"I think I had just been in 'School Ties' or something then, and I was, like, flummoxed but I just wanted to tell him, 'Hear, hear. That was incredible.' And he repeated that to me. He remembered me. He said: 'You were the only guy who didn't treat me like a little kid.' He volunteered that to me. That was meaningful."

Fraser plays a defense attorney in "Killers of the Flower Moon," which, given the monstrousness of his clients' actions, suggests he might not be the most sympathetic guy in the movie. But anyone who grew up watching him in "Encino Man" and "School Ties" has to be rooting for him to keep this renaissance rolling. And it's nice to know he has a champion in DiCaprio.

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