Brendan Fraser Reveals He Almost Died in ‘The Mummy’ Movie

Despite being the movie that launched him into stardom, Hollywood actor, Brendan Fraser has revealed that one of the scariest things he recalls about the movie is that he almost lost his life while filming it.

The Scene That Almost Killed Him

In an article for Entertainment Weekly in 2019, Fraser recalled his time filming the movie and he said it all happened during a scene in which his character, Rick O’Connell, is about to be publicly hanged and Evie, played by Rachel Weisz, seeks help.

“I did get fully choked-out,” said Fraser.

“It was scary. Rick is dangling at the end of the rope, and he’s such a tough guy that his neck didn’t snap.

“We did the wide shot, which was the stuntman going down, and he had a harness on, and it looked great. Then they’ve got to go in [for a close-up].

“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. Steve says, ‘Can we got for another one and take up the tension on the rope?’ I said, ‘All right, one more take.’ Because a noose around your neck is 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 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.

“I regained consciousness and one of the EMTs was saying my name.”

At the time of the incident, director Stephen Sommers had blamed Brendan Fraser for what happened.

“[Brendan] is totally to blame,” said the director.

“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.”

However, Fraser didn’t agree with Sommers’ take, stressing that all he did was to follow directions from the movie director.