Fraser was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is the son of Canadian parents Carol and Peter Fraser who used to work for the Canadian government in Indiana. His parents are Czech, English, French Canadian, German, Irish and Scottish ancestry. He has three older brothers: Kevin, Regan, and Sean. His family moved often when he was a child and lived in Eureka, California, Seattle, Ottawa, the Netherlands and in Switzerland. When he was a boy, Fraser he was at the well known Canadian school for boys, called Upper Canada College, in Toronto. When he was on vacation in London, Fraser went to see his first show in the West End. He graduated from Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts in 1990. He started acting at a small acting college in New York. He first planned on going to graduate school in Texas but he made the decision to stay in Hollywood and work in movies.