The Mummy star Brendan Fraser details the very chaotic set environment of the 1999 hit film but makes clear that it was still a ton of fun. Directed by Stephen Sommers, The Mummy tells the story of adventurer Rick O'Connell as he deals with the consequences of accidentally waking up an ancient Mummy, who is determined to be reunited with his long-lost love. While earning somewhat mixed reviews from critics, the action-adventure movie was a big with audiences and helped launch Fraser's career. Fraser would reprise his role two sequels, The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.
In a recent career retrospective interview with GQ, Brendan Fraser reflects on his time making The Mummy and reveals that the production felt a little chaotic at times. In addition to shooting many of The Mummy's sequences on location in Morocco, Fraser explains that Sommers' directing style led to some exciting moments on set. Despite some elements feeling uncontrolled, it's clear that the actor very much enjoyed his time making the movie. Check out Fraser's full comment below:
“It was thrilling. It had a little bit of, not danger per se, but some risk-taking to it also that felt like, well what will happen today? Will we survive? Stephen Sommers, one of his favorite directions that he would give was, he’d go, ‘Ready, and, don’t suck! Action!’ through a bullhorn. And we’d be like, ‘Ahh,’ and things would blow up and stuff would fall down and then animals on fire. ‘Okay, we got it. Let’s do it again, we’re here!’ Stephen just loves making movies. He loved his job, his enthusiasm’s infectious. I loved making that movie.”
The Mummy's Sense Of Adventure Is Why It Remains So Beloved By Fans
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Although its two direct sequels weren't as warmly received, The Mummy retains its place as one of the most beloved movies in Fraser's filmography. Playing like a more light-hearted take on Indiana Jones, Sommers' original movie features thrilling set pieces and moments of action but is anchored in a fun sense of adventure. Much of this unique blend is down to Fraser's performance in The Mummy, with the actor able to tackle tense shootouts and sword fights with conviction all while maintaining a sense of comedy and silliness. Fraser's comment makes clear that this sense of adventure on-screen in The Mummy may also have come from the actor feeling like he was on a wild adventure himself on set.
In 2017, a reboot of The Mummy was released, earning primarily negative reviews from audiences and critics and underperforming at the box office. The movie, which stars Tom Cruise, took a much more serious approach than Sommers' The Mummy, largely failing to resonate with audiences and essentially killing Universal's Dark Universe franchise plan. Fraser himself recently commented on why The Mummy reboot may not have succeeded, explaining that it didn't have the 1999 movie's sense of fun. While perhaps not an environment that all actors would have enjoyed, Fraser's story about The Mummy suggests that a bit of chaos on set may have been the movie's secret ingredient.
Although the movie is now approaching 25 years old, The Mummy evidently still resonates with fans, largely due to Fraser's involvement. The actor may have stepped back from the spotlight for many years in the mid-2000s, but is largely back in the public eye now. With Fraser once more taking leading roles in bigger movies, there have been renewed calls for a fourth installment in the franchise. While it remains to be seen if Fraser will return for The Mummy 4, 1999's The Mummy still holds up to this day.
Source: GQ/ YouTube