Brendan Fraser apologized for the massive traffic jam that brought cars to a complete standstill in San Francisco a whopping 25 years ago.
The beloved actor, who starred in the hit film “George of the Jungle” in 1997, recalled filming a particularly gripping scene that caused chaos in the city’s Oakland Bay Bridge, spanning over 8.4 miles.
Speaking at the Mill Valley Film Festival in California on Thursday, Fraser said the scene involved his character climbing up the bridge to rescue a parachutist, for which a dummy was used.
But worried onlookers were led to think it was a real person stuck up there, subsequently causing a major traffic jam to take place.
“Disney put a mannequin hanging by a parachute from the uprights. It brought traffic to a standstill on either side of the bridge,” the 53-year-old told SFGate. “My trailer was on the other side in a parking lot. I just remember watching the… Bridge.”
He continued, “There’s this dummy parachutist hanging from it. I had the TV on, and ‘Oprah’ got interrupted because there was a special news report with helicopters saying a parachute is dangling on the bridge.
“And I’m going — “wait a minute!’ I’m looking at the helicopters and TV — somebody didn’t pull a permit, somebody’s going to get in trouble with the mayor’s office.”
“So I can only apologize for that. So, that said, my bad. It won’t happen again,” Fraser added.
The hit film, which got a sequel in 2003, saw Fraser play George — a man raised by apes in an African jungle. He then falls in love with an American heiress, played by Leslie Mann, during her tour of Uganda. The film generated $180 million at the box office.