Brendan Fraser Takes Center Stage in Focus Features’ D-Day Thriller PRESSURE

Brendan Fraser leads PRESSURE as history hangs in the balance before D-Day.

Focus Features is leaning into pure tension with PRESSURE, a WWII thriller that places Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser front and center in one of history’s most agonizing countdowns. Directed by Anthony Maras and written by David Haig and Maras, the film opens in theaters on May 29.

Set in the tense 72 hours before D-Day, PRESSURE follows General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg as they confront an impossible choice. With the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, they must decide whether to launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.

Fraser stars alongside Andrew Scott, Academy Award nominee Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis. Still, the movie’s emotional pull and star power are clearly built around Fraser, who continues to redefine his career in the years following his Oscar win.

Brendan Fraser’s Next Big Swing

Fraser arrives in PRESSURE with real momentum. After earning the Academy Award for The Whale, he has been deliberate about choosing roles that carry weight and texture. That makes him a strong fit for a story driven by leadership, uncertainty, and the kind of stress that breaks people quietly.

Even when Fraser plays larger-than-life characters, he tends to bring a human softness that sticks. That quality helped make him a fan favorite in The Mummy films and George of the Jungle, and it is also what made his dramatic comeback hit so hard with The Whale and Rental Family. In a film like PRESSURE, where tension lives in decisions rather than action, that emotional clarity matters.

A Ticking Clock Before D-Day

Rather than focusing on the invasion itself, PRESSURE narrows in on the moments when history could have turned the other way. Weather, intelligence, and political pressure push Eisenhower and Stagg toward a decision with no safe option. Every hour that passes makes the choice heavier, and the consequences feel closer.

Anthony Maras is known for grounded, high-stakes storytelling, and this setup plays to that strength. The film promises a contained, nerve-tight experience where performance and atmosphere do the heavy lifting.

The Supporting Cast Around Fraser

Andrew Scott brings precision and intensity after acclaimed work in All of Us Strangers and Fleabag, plus his breakout turn as Moriarty in Sherlock.

Kerry Condon follows her Oscar-nominated performance in The Banshees of Inisherin and is also known for her role in F1 The Movie, voicing F.R.I.D.A.Y. in the Marvel films, and appearing in Better Call Saul.

Damian Lewis, a Golden Globe winner for Homeland, is recognized for Band of Brothers and Billions. Chris Messina has stood out in Air, Sharp Objects, and The Mindy Project.

A War Movie Built on Decisions

PRESSURE is positioned as a different kind of WWII story. It is not about explosions first. It is about the people in the room who have to choose, knowing they might be wrong and knowing thousands will pay the price either way. With Brendan Fraser at the center, Focus Features is clearly betting on performance-driven intensity.

PRESSURE opens in theaters May 29.

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