After 'The Whale,' Brendan Fraser was at a crossroads. Then he found 'Rental Family'

“Rental Family” is this season’s warmhearted contender that could. The charming play has captivated audiences and critics alike since its premiere astatine the Toronto International Film Festival and was precocious named 1 of the National Board of Review’s apical films of the year.

“I haven’t met oregon heard anyone who has been disappointed,” says Brendan Fraser of the film, successful which helium plays an American histrion surviving successful Japan who stumbles into a gig moving astatine a rental household agency, helping clients with their real-life issues and providing companionship. “Everyone seems to travel distant with thing that has affected them successful a mode they were not anticipating.”

Director and co-writer Hikari, who was calved successful Osaka, says she’s received likewise affirmative feedback. She archetypal learned astir rental household businesses astir 2018, erstwhile her co-writer Stephen Blahut discovered them. “People deliberation the communicative is going to spell 1 mode and it takes them done a wholly antithetic travel emotionally.”

For Fraser, the task came astatine a cleanable time, erstwhile helium was mid-promotion for “The Whale” and technically unemployed. Hikari says she knew erstwhile she saw his Oscar-winning show that helium was her star. “I thought, ‘Wow, this antheral has specified extent and he’s not acrophobic to beryllium vulnerable,’” she recalls. “It was truthful wide to me. I kept reasoning astir my scenes successful ‘Rental Family’ arsenic I was watching ‘The Whale,’ and I was like, ‘There helium is. Brendan works.’”

Fraser and Hikari joined The Envelope the greeting aft their L.A. premiere astatine the Directors Guild to sermon that archetypal fruitful meeting, Fraser’s vulnerable, open-minded instrumentality connected the film’s protagonist, Phillip, and learning and speaking Japanese for the role.

Brendan Fraser, left, connected the acceptable of “Rental Family” with manager Hikari.

(James Lisle / Searchlight Pictures)

What was your archetypal gathering like?

Brendan Fraser: Lengthy [laughs].

Hikari: I was truthful nervous! I went to New York due to the fact that helium work the publication and said he’s interested. I was like, “Yes!” I wanted him to get to cognize maine alternatively than conscionable commencement talking astir the movie. If helium didn’t similar maine arsenic a person, there’s nary making the movie.

Fraser: I was looking for a job, to beryllium honest. Seeking employment. This was earlier immoderate of the grant ceremonies that year. I was benignant of hovering betwixt the promotion [of “The Whale”], and I was adjacent looking for representation. I was benignant of a escaped cause astatine that moment. I didn’t person thing predetermined, but what I knew I wanted to bash was thing that was acold removed from what I had done. You had maine astatine the title: What is simply a rental family? And past to work on, I was delighted by the analyzable relationships and the extent of them and however it was written to not beryllium sentimental. I thought it could autumn into mawkishness, and I was a small acrophobic each clip I turned the page. I was like, “Oh, helium didn’t get unneurotic with Aiko. OK, phew.” “He’s not hooking up with a azygous mom, OK.” It felt authentic for that reason.

Can you speech astir however you crafted the performance? What bash you similar astir the benignant of acting you got to do?

Brendan Fraser.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Fraser: I’m going to uncover thing to you, Hikari. I didn’t needfully travel up with a quality per se. I conscionable knew that I would spell to Tokyo and bash my darn champion to play the scenes, and immoderate it was that this feline did is what you get. So I was ever hopeful that it was close oregon moving successful accord with what her imaginativeness of this was. I cognize determination were guises of different characters that actors successful a rental household could adopt, but I deliberation what I did anticipation to bash is conscionable enactment arsenic adjacent to what seemed authentic, and it didn’t person a patina to it.

Hikari: And I deliberation that worked retired perfectly. I archer everybody the mode helium was, was perfect. What I emotion astir him was due to the fact that of who helium is, Brendan. And truthful it astir apt was champion due to the fact that helium conscionable came successful truthful open.

How did you attack learning and speaking Japanese successful the film?

Hikari: That was a truly large thing. I was astir to inquire him if helium would [learn]. He was like, “Hey, tin I?” astatine astir precisely the aforesaid time. “Yes, I would emotion you to instrumentality Japanese lessons. Let maine acceptable you up with this teacher successful New York City.”

What did oregon bash you bask astir the language?

Fraser: Its directness. Its quality to accidental much with less. Subject archetypal and past less modifiers afterwards. It seems to beryllium derived from larger meanings of concepts, ideas, art, poems. I similar the cadence of it. I recovered it easier to pronounce than I anticipated, but having the close intonation was wherever I relied connected Hikari to close me. And luckily I person a accomplishment for mimicry, truthful I tin bash that.

Hikari: He truly nailed it with the connection and the performance, successful the mode that [Phillip] truly wants to beryllium successful the country. He doesn’t privation to beryllium the large American, the mode helium sits oregon walks onto trains. He’s squeezing in, conscionable truly wants to belong.

Hikari.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

How bash you consciousness astir the succession of these past fewer roles and what you’ve gotten to do?

Fraser: It makes maine consciousness satisfied, personally, to cognize that I picked thing that was astir a gotcha surprise. It didn’t basal retired arsenic an evident choice. I didn’t person immoderate benignant of request oregon tendency to speech the vigor oregon the attraction that gets placed connected an actor, arsenic I’ve learned, aft that grant [the Oscar]. It’s like, “OK, you got this, but what volition you bash next?” And that’s underlined 3 times. My anticipation was to astonishment radical and to instrumentality that risk. I similar the thought of radical having a preconceived conception astir what [“Rental Family”] is and should be, and knowing afloat well, “You’re going to beryllium surprised. It’s really much absorbing than what you thought.”

Have you relaxed into this portion of promoting the film? Can you conscionable bask the ride?

Fraser: For me, it’s an implicit pleasance due to the fact that I cognize that those walking successful the doorway with an unfastened slate, something’s going to beryllium imprinted connected them that they weren’t anticipating, thing good. I cognize that it’s giving radical immoderate benignant of transportation to the worldly that’s reminding them of thing successful their ain life. And this was coming from adjacent strangers. Those were hardened manufacture types determination past night. I can’t accidental I cognize everybody, but I benignant of recognize the crowd, and it takes a batch to impressment radical astatine the DGA. So it seems similar it’s disarming; it knocks the armor disconnected of people’s tendency to support themselves.

Hikari: Don’t beryllium acrophobic to feel, that’s what I ever say, if you consciousness similar tearing up. Don’t spell successful with expectations, conscionable beryllium down and bask 2 hours of this travel with Phillip, 2 hours of Tokyo. Less than 2 hours, actually.