Brendan Fraser Reveals Strict ‘George of the Jungle’ Diet Caused Temporary Memory Loss

Fraser got extremely fit to play the vine-swinging character.

Brendan Fraser is getting a lot of great press and attention for his new role in the drama film The Whale, leading people to label this the "Brenaissance," but it has also led the actor and his fans to look back on notable past roles.

This includes the titular character in the 1997 film George of the Jungle, in which Fraser played a vine-swinging man raised by animals in the jungle who falls in love with a civilized woman named Ursula, played by Leslie Mann.

With only a loincloth as his main wardrobe, Fraser worked hard to get into tip-top shape, and he succeeded.

But according to a new conversation between Fraser and Adam Sandler as part of Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, the strict diet might've negatively affected the actor's memory at the time.

In the new interview, Fraser said that he "was waxed, greased, starved of carbohydrates" while filming George of the Jungle.

He said: "I would drive home after work and stop to get something to eat. I needed some cash one day, and I went to the ATM, and I couldn’t remember my PIN number because my brain was misfiring. Banging on the thing. I didn’t eat that night.”

Luckily, the memory loss was only temporary, and Fraser didn't mention any lasting effects of the harsh diet.

Despite the struggle, Sandler complimented Fraser's hard work. He told him while laughing, "You weren’t supposed to do that to us...You did right by the character. But you did wrong by us, man. You made us feel bad about ourselves.”

A couple of years before George of the Jungle, Fraser did the film Airheads with Sandler, Steve Buscemi, and Chris Farley, and his switch to George in George of the Jungle was apparently a major surprise for Sandler.

Years later, Fraser is still shocking people with his on-screen performances, with Slate reporting that his turn in The Whale received a six-minute standing ovation after the screening at the Venice Film Festival.

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