The Brendan Fraser Factum.: THE MUMMY (1999)

In May of 1998, Brendan traveled to Morocco to film what would then be the biggest film of his career to date. The Mummy, a reimagining of the 1932 Universal picture starring Boris Karloff as an ancient Egyptian high priest named Imhotep and Zita Johann as Helen Grosvenor and his reincarnated lost love the Princess Ankh-es-en-Amon.

In this new incarnation, Brendan plays Rick O'Connell, a handsome, dashing, French Foreign Legionnaire turned adventurer who meets a pretty librarian and Egyptologist, Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) who (literally) saves and changes his life. Imhotep(Arnold Vosloo) is still an ancient Egyptian high priest punished for his forbidden love for the Pharaoh Seti I's mistress Anck su Namun (Patricia Velasquez), though younger, decidedly more attractive, and possessing powers Karloff never dreamed of. The cast was rounded out nicely by John Hannah as Evelyn's ne'er do well brother, Jonathan, a heroic Medjai Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr), a shameless, wealth-obsessed coward named Beni (Kevin J, O'Connor) and Dr. Terrence Bey (Erick Avari) the curator of the Cairo Museum and Evelyn's harried boss.

BRENDAN FRASER as RICK O'CONNELL

RACHEL WEISZ as EVELYN CARNAHA

ARNOLD VOSLOO as IMHOTEP

JOHN HANNAH as JONATHAN CARNAHAN

ODED FEHR as ARDETH BAY

ERICK AVARI as DR. TERRENCE BEY

KEVIN J. O'CONNOR as BENI

PATRICIA VELASQUEZ as Anck su Namun

Cruelly punished for his misdeeds, Imhotep is a force to be reckoned with when he is accidentally awakened and wreaks havoc on anyone and everyone in his path to finding and resurrecting Anck su namun . This, of course includes, Rick, Evy, and a group of American treasure hunters (Stephen Dunham, Corey Johnson and Tuc Watkins) led by a British Egyptologist (Jonathan Hyde).

AHARON IPALE as SETI I
1941-2016

Filming took place in the Kingdom of Morocco, the Sahara Desert,
Interiors were filmed at Shepperton Studios in London, England ( Hamunaptra ) and Chatham,England (where the Giza Port sets were built at the dockyard.)

Like the film itself, Making it was not without it's share of "excitement". Originally, Egypt was meant to be....Egypt. 🐪 But, with political instability there, it was decided to use Morocco instead where the production was welcomed as were many others before including Lawrence of Arabia(1962), The Man Who Would be King (1975) and Gladiator (2000). The Mummy Returns (2001) would also return to Morocco for exteriors in 2000.

Snakes, Scorpions, and the heat were also problems (115 degrees before breakfast !)A special hydrating electrolyte solution was given to the cast and crew every two hours and still some suffered from heatstroke and snakebite and had to be airlifted out.

But even more shocking was what happened on the second day of shooting in a scene where Rick O'Connell is to be hanged because "apparently he had a VERY good time !" Brendan told the stunt coordinator to make the noose tighter. "I want to make it look like I'm really strangling." The cameras rolled and Brendan struggled and then proceeded to collapse in a heap.

Director Stephen Sommers and the cast and crew thought he was kidding. But he wasn't. When he regained consciousness within a minute, he apologized. Always the gentleman. There was also kidnapping insurance taken out on the cast but they were not told until after the film wrapped.😲