How Brendan Fraser Learned to Speak Japanese for New Movie ‘Rental Family’

Brendan Fraser flexed his language skills for his latest film.

The Academy Award winner spoke about learning to speak Japanese for his starring role in Rental Family during a post-screening Q&A on Saturday, Sept. 6, as the movie had its world premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival.

And while Fraser, 56, admitted he’s “not a very good student,” he added, “but I’m an excellent mimic.”

“So what you, of course, didn’t see through the magic of editing, people were feeding me lines as I was making them sound as if they were my own,” he shared.

Fraser added that he became “really good at it really fast,” and that his Japanese castmates “took such good care of me” while he they were filming in Japan.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

As for how he approached the challenges of the communication barrier, “the fundamentals” Fraser learned as an acting student were crucial to helping him understand that “it doesn’t matter what you’re saying verbally — it’s the intention behind it, and we should be able to communicate with one another no matter what languages we speak.”

And while it’s not necessarily “easy” to do, ” ‘I think that if we all just try, we’re gonna understand each other a little bit better,’ ” Fraser recalled of the lesson. “That’s what I took away from it, and my gratitude and love to all my fellow cast members.”

Directed by Hikari, Rental Family takes place in Tokyo and “follows an American actor (Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese ‘rental family’ agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers,” per an official synopsis.

“As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality,” the synopsis adds. “Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging and the quiet beauty of human connection.”

Aside from Fraser, Rental Family’s cast includes Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Gorman and Akira Emoto. The film was written by director Hikari and Stephen Blahut, and produced by Hikari plus Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev and Shin Yamaguchi.

Speaking with PEOPLE at the movie’s TIFF premiere on Saturday, Fraser said the movie made him rethink the concept of family in the sense that “family is who we’re with, not the one we’re born into.”

“This is a movie that I think is gonna satisfy everyone’s need to feel like [they] belong somewhere in the world, even when they’re at their lowest,” he says. “And I know I’m not supposed to say it’s a good movie, but it really is a good movie. Because Hikari is an incredible new director on the scene, and I have bragging rights to say, ‘Well, I knew her when.’ Just watch, in years to come.”

Of what she wants audience to take away from Rental Family, the director herself tells PEOPLE, “I would love for people to just kind of look around and see who is surrounding you. If you feel lonely, like nobody’s there for you, just look around and start from there.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re related to your family member or if you’re not — if you have a friend who’s there for you, then that’s what it matters, right?” Hikari adds. “Then if you get lost or whatever, just listen to your gut. That’s what I love, and hopefully what the movie will tell.”

Rental Family is in theaters Nov. 21. The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 4–14.