The 1999 cinematic classic, The Mummy, is an iconic piece of film — and for good reason. Everyone has their own logic behind what made the Stephen Sommers-helmed adventure flick such a hit, but up there at the top is certainly the performances carried out by its leading cast, which included Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and Oded Fehr. The legends about what Fraser went through and what damage he did to his body in order to bring the blockbuster to screens could make a movie of their own. Now, thanks to one of his castmates, we have a better understanding of how things ended up that way for the actor.
During a reunion panel for The Mummy at Fan Expo Denver, which was hosted by Collider’s Maggie Lovitt, Fehr answered a fan question regarding the most difficult part about the stunts and over-the-top action sequences. Pointing to Fraser’s legacy, Fehr said,
“I have to say, with regards to the, the hardest, physical stunts and so on was not the whole warriors, horse riding and all the sword fighting. It was trying to keep up with Brandon anytime they would say ‘action’ and he’d start fighting — It was hell!”
For a brief refresher, Fehr appeared in the film as the long-haired, bearded, dreamy Ardeth Bay, the chief of the Medjai, a group who watched over the grave of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) for centuries, ensuring that the dangerous mummy would never rise again. Eventually, Ardeth Bay fights on the side of Fraser’s Rick O’Connell to defeat Imhotep after his awakening. Although he didn’t dig into the specifics, the actor presumably had quite a bit of horse and sword training, as his character was almost always seen atop a stallion.
Brendan Fraser’s Commitment to ‘The Mummy’
Fehr’s revelation that Fraser’s intensity was the most difficult part of filming The Mummy’s action sequences falls directly in line with everything we’ve heard about the star’s journey in the production. During his recent Hollywood resurgence, Fraser has been more than open about how experiences on the sets of The Mummy films and others, like George of the Jungle, impacted him physically. Previously speaking about the fallout of years of intense physical movements, Fraser said:
“I got a little banged up from years of doing my own stunts and needed a surgical fix on the spine and the hinges. And that took a lot out of me. I knew I would get better, but it took a long time. Every morning I was putting myself together like a gladiator with muscle tape and ice packs, strapping on this Transformer-like exoskeleton just to get through the scene.”
Stay tuned to Collider for more to come from Fan Expo Denver.
