Brendan Fraser fans delighted as sons reveal Best Actor winner’s ‘dad jokes’

Brendan Fraser’s sons have stepped out at the 2023 Oscars in support of their father, who is nominated for Best Actor for his role in The Whale.

The actor, 54, arrived at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday 12 March with his sons Holden Fletcher Fraser, 18, and Leland Francis Fraser, 16. In addition to his two children – whom he shares with ex-wife Afton Smith – they were joined by Fraser’s girlfriend, Jeanne Moore.

Fraser and Smith are also parents to their 20-year-old son, Griffin Arthur Fraser, who is on the autism spectrum.

While speaking to Laverne Cox on the E! News red carpet, Fraser’s sons shared their praise for their father ahead of Sunday night’s ceremony. “We are unbelievably proud. Over the moon,” Holden said.

Meanwhile, the two revealed to Entertainment Tonight that, despite their father now being an Oscar nominee, he still finds time to crack some dad jokes.

“At the end of a conversation, we’ll say, ‘Oh yeah, right.’ And he’ll say, ‘Left,’” Holden explained, while Leland said, “I think my personal favourite has always been when we’re kids and I’d say, I don’t like broccoli,’ and he says, ‘Broccoli loves you.’"

Although Holden admitted that his father is “pretty cool,” he said his “dad jokes still don’t hit”.

"I mean, he’s our old man and he’s always been cool. But we’re always gonna rag on him at least a little," Leland added.

Fans instantly took to social media on Sunday evening following the rare family red carpet moment, where they gushed over Holden and Leland’s support for Fraser.

“Watching Brendan Fraser’s sons say how proud they are of their dad and watching him get emotional about it is already my top #Oscars moment and the show hasn’t even started yet,” tweeted one fan.

“I’m soft,” another said about the boys’ display of support. “You got this, Brendan!”

“Very handsome young men!” a third wrote.

Brendan Fraser was married to actor Afton Smith from September 1998 to December 2007. These days, his son Holden is a model and student at New York University while Leland is also a model. The boys made another rare red carpet appearance in November 2022 for a New York City screening of The Whale.

Earlier this year, the Mummy star opened up about his eldest son Griffin’s autism diagnosis and reflected on the joy and happiness it has brought him. During a February appearance on the Howard Stern Show, the Oscar nominee said he was “crestfallen” when he and his ex-wife first received Griffin’s diagnosis when he was “22 or 24 months” old.

Fraser said that hearing the diagnosis was like being “hit with a baseball bat in the back of the side of the head”, adding: “This isn’t the way it’s supposed to turn out. You blame yourself and you think, ‘My genealogy’ or ‘I smoked weed in college’, you start blaming yourself over the reasons why.”

He admitted that his first reaction was to try and find a “fix” for autism, but later decided he “wouldn’t have it any other way”.

“This kid has the most joy on board of anyone I know, and he happens to be related to me as my son,” he said. “I want to know what he thinks is so gut-burstingly funny all day long, in a genuine way, he’s cracking himself up. He loves to go for a ride in the car. It doesn’t matter where you’re taking him.”