Brendan Fraser. Photo: Richard Shotwell / AP / Profimedia. Collage: Ion Mateș
Brendan Fraser “gave the most disarming answer any sane man could give about why he would want to rent a hedgehog,” writes IndieWire.
The topic came up during an interview Fraser gave to IndieWire to discuss Family for renthis new film due to hit theaters early next year. Fraser, who was awarded his first career Academy Award in 2023 for his performance in the drama The Whalewill play a new role in his new film, and says the recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given him more “bandwidth” in choosing the features he wants to star in.
He will be Phillip Vandarploeug, an American actor living in Tokyo who struggles to find a purpose in life until he lands an unusual job: he ends up working for a Japanese “family for rent” agency, standing in for family members or befriending strangers. “He rediscovers meaning, belonging and the beauty of human connection,” notes the IMDb description for the film.
“What is a family for rent? After you dig a little, and reading the script certainly helps, you find out that it's a business that's been around since the 1980s. I think there are about 300 or so of them operating in Tokyo now, probably more since the release of the film,” explained Fraser in the context of the film's international premiere on November 21, but it won't be released in Romanian cinemas until January 23, 2026.
How a serious discussion ended up renting a hedgehog
Asked if he believed that the increase in recent years of the phenomenon of Hikikomori, the total withdrawal from society of some young people, mainly men, is increasing the demand for “relatives” for rent, to be taken by families to social events, Fraser replied:
“Right. And that's another aspect of Japanese society. There are many, many things you can rent in Japan, but there are limits and rules to everything. You can rent a hedgehog if you want. I know this because I did it…”
Asked immediately why he hired a hedgehog, Fraser replied simply: “Because I had never done it before.”
“I wanted to sit with a hedgehog and watch him eat a mealworm,” added the beloved actor.
Brendan Fraser says hiring the hedgehog is somewhat symbolic of his new film
The IndieWire reporter who interviewed him then asked him if he was afraid that he would become emotionally attached to the hedgehogs in the conditions that he would have to return them to the company from which he rented them.
“Exactly. I know. And that's where the moral and ethical dilemma this movie lives in comes in. What happens when fantasy and surrogate collide with reality? That gray, perhaps sometimes problematic, middle area. That's where Hikari shines. That's where she approaches the subject in a way that's not sentimental and that allows people to see with clear eyes what's really going on,” Brendan Fraser replied.
Hikari, real name Mitsuyo Miyazaki, is a Japanese director and former actress, best known for writing, directing and producing the drama film 37 Seconds since 2019 and for directing three episodes of the Netflix series Beef in 2023.
She is the director of the film Family for rent and he also worked on the script of the feature film that will appear in cinemas on January 23.
