rendan Fraser is known for playing endangered species: cavemen, apemen...Jewish football players.  It's not exactly the mix you would expect from a Hollywood actor, but when you meet the 30-year-old star of Encino Man, George of the Jungle, and School Ties, you begin to understand why he's successfully inhabited so many unusual, multidimensional characters.  Fraser is at once unfailingly polite and a complete goofball, struggling almost inaudibly to communicate something profound before bursting into high-pitched giggles.  Although he dresses like an L.A. actor (leather jacket and expensive shoes), Fraser seems to be from another time and place entirely.    Most recently seen opposite Ian McKellen in Gods and Monsters, Fraser has a trio of films coming up in '99.  He'll star in a remake of the 1932 horror classic The Mummy, followed by a turn as the title role in Dudley Do-Right.  But first up is this month's Blast from the Past, the story of a 30-year-old man born in a bomb shelter who first comes aboveground in 1999.  And this time around, Fraser has Alicia Silverstone--not Pauly Shore--waiting for him when he gets out. Time Out New York: Two of my most sober and intelligent girlfriends think you're the sexiest actor around.  Were you aware that so many women are attracted to you? Brendan Fraser: No.  I assumed my biggest fans were under three foot four. TONY: You mean the kids who saw your $100-million hit, George of the Jungle? BF: Yes.  My fans are the ankle-biting crowd.  But I think I'm known as a diverse actor.  I'm flattered by the notice, I suppose.  [Pause] What are these women like? TONY: They're both really smart.  You seem smart. BF: I was once called a thinking mans hunk. TONY: In 1992, you made both School Ties and Encino Man, a Pauly Shore movie that was a surprise hit.  Do you have the career you expected to have? BF: I've made many films since then and have taken on many different roles--by design.  It is this actors' opinion that we should redefine ourselves with every role.

TONY: Because it's more fun?  Or because that's what acting is all about? BF: A bit of each.  Your audience is always going to recognize the actor in whatever part, but you should try to stretch as much as you can between roles. TONY: You seem to have a proclivity for playing characters who go through an innocent, babylike rebirthing thing.  Do you get all the monster-boy scripts? BF: Actually, I get fewer scripts now, just the good ones.  It used to be that I got nothing, then I got everything, and now I get the few good ones.  I don't know if I gravitate to those roles or they to me.  I have a theory that when an audience sees a character who's not used to his environment, it's kind of like blowing up a horses' nose. TONY: Why would anyone blow up a horses' nose? BF: Not blow it up--you blow up its' nose, to put it at ease.  And if an audience is at ease, you can get on with the business of telling the story.  I don't mean to be erudite. TONY: So let's talk about your new movie, called.... BF: Blast from the Past. TONY: Right. Sorry.  I can't remember those three-word titles. BF: Blast from the....Three-word titles? TONY: Oh, shut up.  What's it about? BF: It's a story that pits '60's values against '90's values.  The premise is that this family is driven underground by the Red scare.  And Americans were: Back then, you could buy a d0-it-yourself fallout shelter for $99.95 from the Sears-Roebuck catalog and put it together in your yard. TONY: Are you happy with the film? BF: Yes.  It's a New Line movie, and they have a penchant for championing pictures of this ilk.  All things retro are hip right now--and they treat the period well. TONY: You use words like penchant and ilk in the same sentence. BF: Don't be impressed.  Mayonnaise is a big word. TONY: What's the word that best describes your childhood?

BF: Diverse.  I moved around a lot and met lots of people.  I had lots of friends.   I had imaginary friends. TONY: Do you remember any of these imaginary friends? BF: I remember one--Tracy.  She had a cardigan and cat's-eye glasses.  And straight hair with a barrette.  Tracy pushed me into the swimming pool.  No!  It wasn't Tracy--it was Trudy!  Trudy pushed me into the swimming pool!  TONY:  When did you start acting? BF: When I was 18, at Cornish College in Seattle.  I was an acting student in the --what do you call it?--conservatory! TONY: Describe the most avant-garde thing you were involved with. BF: The Normal Heart.  A surrealist wrote it.  We took over the machine shop at the Entimont Theater.  We turned all the lights off and put garden chairs in and had television screens and masks, and we bashed things, ran some power tools.  We read from the classifieds at one point. TONY: What did you wear? BF: A judges' trenchcoat and A Bog Bird hat.  I entered through a doorway on a rope.  It was a showstopper---for all nine people watching. TONY: You're originally form Canada? BF: I was born in the U.S., but my parents are Canadian--since naturalized.  It's complicated.  I'm American, but I hold an expired Canadian passport. TONY: You're set to play Dudley Do-Right.  Did you want to be a Mountie as a kid? BF: Well, they get instant recognition.  The Mountie has one of the all-time best outfits, hands down.  That red coat?  The boots, the jodhpurs....My great-granddad was a Mountie. TONY: Get out! BF: Open any Mountie book!  He's in it.