A Minute With: Brendan Fraser''s "Extraordinary Measure

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Brendan Fraser has enjoyed a varied career, gaining fame in movies like the Pauly Shore comedy "Encino Man" as a cave dweller in modern times, and earning critical praise in dramas like Oscar winner "Crash."

"Extraordinary Measures," which opens on Jan 22., tells how Crowley, his wife and a biotech scientist, played by Harrison Ford, raise money to find a treatment for the disease.

Fraser, 41, spoke to Reuters from Philadelphia after watching a test screening of the movie. He talked about the film and his varied career.

Q: You''ve worked in adventures (the "Mummy" movies), family comedies ("Looney Tunes: Back in Action") and dramas ("Gods and Monsters"). What is special about "Extraordinary Measures"?

A: "You rarely get a chance to play a living, breathing human, unless you''re a comedian lampooning someone or you''re doing a well-known figure. John Crowley is not a celebrity, per se, although he is known in the scientific community. He''s a person who absolutely would not take ''no'' for an answer. He''s easily one of the most principled people I''ve met. He''s resourceful. And it''s not exactly that he won''t take ''no'' for an answer. He''ll take a maybe and turn it into a yes."

Q: You''re a father of three. Are any of your children disabled? Or did your personal life influence taking the role.

A: "My kids are healthy. But I do have the ability to identify with the ''God forbid'' feeling that any parent who watches this movie feels when they think, ''well, what would I do when faced with that challenge of keeping my kid alive.'' You would act and hang the consequences."

Q: And Crowley acts by finding the man, the scientist, who can help cure his kids. But it''s not easy, is it?

A: "Harrison (Ford) did what he does best, which is create this grouchy character. He provides the edge for these two guys to go toe-to-toe in an intellectual battle over who''s right and who''s wrong. And they are both right, and both wrong. And in the end they find some mutual respect. This film, in my view, is a positive one. And I didn''t want anything to do with a film that was mockish, over sentimental, misguided or weepy."

Q: Then, what should audiences take away from the movie?

A: "I was astonished by this test screening in Philadelphia with a regular audience -- they weren''t executives from studios or industry people in Hollywood. We did a question-and-answer session after it was over, and the best thing is that they didn''t have a question for me. The stars of the day were Crowley and his wife. I was delighted."

Q: You''ve called Crowley a role model. In what way?