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Brendan Fraser has been seeing a revival in his career after he won the Oscar for his role in Darren Aronofsky’sThe Whale. However, the actor will always be known for his role as Rick O’Connell in the horror adventure filmThe Mummy. Directed by Stephen Sommers, the film made him a bonafide star and turned the franchise into a huge asset for Universal Studios.
While Fraser shot to worldwide fame withThe Mummyand its sequelThe Mummy Returns, the latter also turned another upcoming actor into a star. Dwayne Johnson, who was a rising star at WWE at the time, made a cameo as the Scorpion King inThe Mummy Returns, leading him to receive his own spinoff film a year later.
Dwayne Johnson’s Cameo InspiredThe MummyFilmmaker To Write A Solo Film
Dwayne Johnsonis one of the biggest stars in Hollywood right now. The actor has delivered multiple blockbusters such as theFast & Furiousfranchise,Jumanji, and others. Despite his reputation for being tardy, the actor has turned himself into a mogul of sorts with his various business ventures and reentry into the WWE.
While The Rock is a huge worldwide star, he was not that well-known outside the WWE circle when he made his debut as the Scorpion King in the Brendan Fraser starrerThe Mummy Returns. The sequel to Universal Studios’ hitThe Mummy, the film saw the Rock play a warrior who gives his soul to Anubis in exchange for a future revival.
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Director Stephen Sommers, who made both films, mentioned that he was not aware of Dwayne Johnson at the time but was extremely impressed with his performance. He said toThe Hollywood Reporter,
“He was great. I had never heard of the guy, but then they sent me some footage of him, and he was just perfect. I had to shoot so fast with him because he flew into Marrakesh on Wednesday, and he had to be in Detroit for a WWE thing on Saturday. But boy, was he a trooper.”
The filmmaker mentioned that Universal was extremely happy with the performance of Dwayne Johnson despite it being his debut film role. Sommers mentioned that the studio was so impressed with the actor that they asked the filmmaker to write a movie with him as the lead actor.
“As soon as the studio saw the dailies, the president of Universal was calling me up and saying, ‘You got to write a movie for him.’ Somehow over the next week or so, I came up with this idea that became the Scorpion King movie.”
The actor has been in many other blockbusters of Universal Studios since then. The actor joined theFast & Furiousfranchise fromFast Fiveand even received a spinoff film titledHobbs & Shaw. He also starred in films such asSkyscraperandCentral Intelligencewhich were successful for the studio.
Brendan Fraser Passed Out On The Sets OfThe Mummy
While Dwyane Johnson may have been the breakout star ofThe Mummy Returns, the franchise belonged toBrendan Fraserwho reportedly went above and beyond to perfectly embody the Indiana Jones-esque Rick O’Connell. The actor reportedly did many of his stunts and took a beating during high-octane action sequences.
“She made the choice that was right for her”: Brendan Fraser Didn’t Lament Rachel Weisz Quitting The Mummy Franchise
However, one of the most dangerous sequences in which the actor put his life on the line was the hanging scene inThe Mummy. During the climax, the actor is hung from rope by the Mummy army as they gear up to sacrifice Rachel Weisz’s Evelyn.Stephen Sommersmentioned that Fraser volunteered to make the noose a lot tighter while filming (via THR).
“We had a great stunt team, but Brendan is a big, tough guy, and he was younger back then. We kind of beat the crap out of him. Everybody talks about the scene when he gets hung. Usually, when somebody gets hung, it’s a dummy, and that’s why they put bags over people’s heads. Brendan was always gung-ho, and he was like, ‘Make the noose really tight on me.’ Then he decided to let his knees sag a little bit.”
However, the request reportedly worked against the actor as he passed out after ten seconds on the rope. Though Brendan Fraser got up a few seconds later, it was reportedly a dangerous stunt that concerned the entire set for a second. Sommers mentioned,
“But what he forgot is that the minute you put that much pressure on your carotid arteries, it knocks you out. We all looked, and he’s completely unconscious. It was fine, and he recovered in 10 seconds. But he woke up like, ‘What happened?’”
Sommers also said that Fraser was committed to the role and took many tumbles while filming key action sequences in the movie.
The Mummyfranchise is streaming on Peacock.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2416
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
