Brendan Fraser's Failed Audition for a Daytime Television Show Led to His Role in “Encino Man”
Brendan Fraser's Failed Audition for a Daytime Television Show Led to His Role in “Encino Man”
Virginia ChamleeFri, May 29, 2026 at 3:25 PM UTC
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Brendan Fraser
Credit: Samir Hussein/Getty; Buena Vista/Courtesy Everett Collection
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Brendan Fraser is opening up about one role he did not land
In a new interview, Fraser says he auditioned for a role on All My Children
And while he did not get the job, he would go on to see success in films like Encino Man and George of the Jungle
Brendan Fraser failed to land a spot on daytime television before taking the role that ultimately changed his life.
In an interview on the Thursday, May 28 episode of Live With Mark and Kelly, the 57-year-old actor recounted how he had recently moved to New York when he "had an audition at ABC Capital Cities for this soap opera called All My Children."
"I came in, and I auditioned. I did not get the job, right?" Fraser admitted.
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Encino Man
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
Co-host Kelly Ripa then admitted that she remembered the timeline of Fraser's audition, saying, "I know this because a couple of months later I'm on an airplane and I'm reading, like, the American Airlines magazine and you had just made, I think, Encino Man."
"And you were talking about how your first audition was for this role on All My Children and how you wouldn't have become a movie star if you had gotten the job on All. So, you're welcome," Ripa, 55, added.
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Ripa herself starred on the series from 1990 to 2002, even meeting her now-husband (and talk show co-host) Mark Consuelos on set in 1995.
Despite not landing a role on the show, Fraser would go on to achieve huge success in 1992's Encino Man, in which he starred as an unfrozen primitive human man dropped into the 1990s. The role helped kickstart his acting career, and he went on to star in films such as 1997's George of the Jungle and The Mummy in 1999.
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He recently announced he'll be back for another film in the Mummy franchise.
Fraser is dad to kids Griffin Arthur Fraser, 23, Holden Fletcher Fraser, 21, and Leland Francis Fraser, 20. TheMummy actor shares all three children with his ex-wife, Afton Smith.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
