Brendan Fraser almost died on the set of ‘The Mummy’
In Hollywood, accidents will happen. Brendan Fraser learnt that the hard way on the set of the multi-million dollar action franchise The Mummy, in which he starred as the gun-toting explorer Rick O’Connell. The role made him an international star, but he also left his body broken and, as later revealed, nearly cost him his life.
The Mummy was not an easy film to shoot. Principle photography took place in Morocco and under the scorching sun of the Sahara. Conditions were so intense that actors were required to consume a drink concocted by the film’s medical team to avoid dehydration every two hours. And that wasn’t the worst of it. Sandstorms frequently interrupted shoots and the cast and crew were plagued by all sorts of venomous wildlife. More than once, people had to be airlifted to receive medical treatment after being stung or bitten.
Fraser’s time on set was especially fraught with danger. One of the most memorable scenes from the first Mummy film is the moment O’Connell is saved from a hanging by Evelyn Carnahan – played by Rachel Weisz. Sadly, due to bad communication and a string of careless mistakes, Fraser was actually asphyxiated while filming the scene.
Fraser discussed the traumatic scene in a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, revealing that he “did get fully choked-out” during filming. While a stuntman was used for the scene’s wider shots, Fraser had to be in the noose for the closeups. The first take was problem-free, but director Stephen Sommer wasn’t satisfied and so ordered a second take with a little more rope tension. The stuntman put too much tension on the rope and Fraser, wanting to “sell” the scene, ended up asphyxiating himself.
“Steve says, ‘Can we got for another one and take up the tension on the rope?’ I said, ‘All right, one more take’,” Fraser recalled. “Because a noose around your neck’s going to choke you in the arteries, no matter what. 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.
When the actor “regained consciousness”, one of the EMTs was saying his name. “There was gravel in my ear and s— really hurt,” he said. “The stunt coordinator came over, and he said, ‘Hi! Welcome to the club, bro! Ha ha ha!’ And I was like, “Ha ha, funny? Ha ha?’ Like, What the hell? I want to go home! Steven — he and I disagree — but I think he was trying to go, ‘Oh, that wacky Brendan, acting up a storm again!’, or something like that. I was like, ‘Hey, you guys think what you need to, but I’m done for the day.’”
