Brendan Fraser thought he knew his history. Growing up in the Netherlands in the 1970s, he traveled to London to visit the Imperial War Museum. He got to see military equipment. “It’s an eye-opener,” he says. “That was scary for me.”
he was reading a book. He has seen movies and heard firsthand from neighbors who hid paintings from the Nazis. But there was one story he didn’t know. That’s how General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg were under pressure in the 72 hours leading up to D-Day. Eisenhower and Stagg face an impossible choice as the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. Launch the largest and most dangerous naval invasion in history, or risk losing the war entirely. That story is the subject of his latest work, “Pressure.”
“When director Anthony Maras sent me this script, based on a play by David Haig, about the weekend before we landed on the beaches of Normandy, I thought, ‘This could be interesting,'” Fraser says.
In the film, Andrew Scott plays Stagg, a Scottish meteorologist tasked with assembling the D-Day weather forecast for Eisenhower, played by Fraser.
Fraser learned a lot while reading the script. “I didn’t know there was a delay.” “In modern life, we look at our phones to tell us what we need to know. In 1944, meteorology was primarily looking at windows, the sky, or records kept years earlier. That science was still being formulated, and this script struck me how much was at stake and how great the cost of delaying the invasion was,” he says.
It’s that old formula that stresses Mr. Stagg so he can get his readings right. If he is wrong, thousands of soldiers will die and it will be up to Eisenhower to listen to Stagg or not.
Fraser said, “This is the story of a character played by Andrew Scott, who stands like a rock in the flow, knows the future, and he has to convince the unchanging people that it’s bad news. If they ignore him, it’s everyone’s danger. And he’s just a junior nerdy biologist meteorologist. And as a petty officer, he gets kicked upstairs.”
As for Eisenhower, Fraser admits he didn’t know much about the general and eventual U.S. president. “I read books and listened to podcasts until my eyes hurt,” he says of his research.
In finding his own voice, Fraser admitted, “I wondered what Ike’s voice would sound like.”
A recording of Eisenhower’s famous “Medal of the Day” speech helped him. “I was instructed to give this piece the same kind of drama and emotion as you do. I couldn’t help but admire how Eisenhower was able to speak those words with dry eyes…In my view, that’s the mark of a stone-cold professional, because those words broke me.”
As part of his research, Fraser went to London’s Imperial War Museum with the cast and was able to look at the archives. “They brought us a real document. I’m telling you, I had a copy of Operation Overlord in my hands,” he continued, “the pages were rusty,” and the document had the word “Top Secret” written on it. “I couldn’t understand the density of the military terminology, but it was a document that was meant to be read in parts.” “I put my hand on it and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up,” he said in awe.
The film was filmed at Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, England, and Fraser revealed that he felt a sense of déjà vu when he set foot on the film set and in his second-floor office. he says: “Lo and behold, this is the same location used in ‘The Mummy Comes Back.'” John Hannah jumped from there onto the crash mat. ”
As previously announced, Fraser and Rachel Weisz are officially returning for the fourth installment of the hit series The Mummy.
The film is scheduled to be released on May 19, 2028. When asked what audiences can expect, Fraser replied, “It’s about getting the band back together and giving them what they want. It’s a thrilling, fun movie. And you’ll want to do it again.”
