The 1999 movie The Mummy was a remake of the classic 1932 film of the same name, but with an entirely different plot and set of events. Rick (Fraser) played an Indiana Jones-like hero who was looking to save the world from the horrifying undead Egyptian priest, Imhotep. When viewers first met Rick, however, he was a prisoner of war and was due to be hanged. This scene, unfortunately, almost proved fatal for the actor when he got “fully choked out”.
SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH THE MUMMY’S HANGING SCENE WITH BRENDAN FRASER
Fraser recently spoke out in an interview about the “scary” hanging scene, which showed him being saved by Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz).
He said: “There was a hangman’s gallows, and there was a hemp rope tied into a noose that was placed around my neck. The first take, I’m doing my best choking acting.
“[Director] Steve [Sommers] says: ‘Can we go for another one and take up the tension on the rope?’
“I said: ‘All right, one more take.’ Because a noose around your neck’s going to choke you in the arteries, no matter what.” (Via Entertainment Weekly)
READ MORE: Spider-Man No Way Home: Tobey Maguire appearance ‘confirmed’ by star
Fraser went on to reveal how one mistake almost killed him.
He said: “So, the stuntman took up the tension on the rope, and I went up on the balls of my feet, then I guess he took the tension up again, and I’m not a ballerina, I can’t stand on my tip-toes.
“I remember seeing the camera start to pan around, and then it was like a black iris at the end of a silent film. It was like turning down the volume switch on your home stereo, like the Death Star powering down.”
Thankfully, Fraser was eventually fine – but he was seen to by medical professionals.
Stephen said: “[Brendan] is totally to blame. He tightens the noose, and then, as we’re about to get the shot, he’s trying to make it look like it’s really strangling him.
“I guess it cut off his carotid artery, or whatever, and knocked him out. He did it to himself.”
Fraser later added that, because Stephen needed to “sell” that Rick was really choking, then yes, “technically, it was his fault” for “following my director’s directions”.
The American star added that, before the camera landed on him, he took “three really deep breaths” so his face “turned purple”.
Fraser went on: “That had to have been a [lesson in how] to asphyxiate yourself. I mean, that had to have been it.”
The star went on to work with Sommers again in the sequel to The Mummy – The Mummy Returns – in 2001.
The Mummy and The Mummy Returns are available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
For all the latest Entertainment News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.