After making memorable appearances in films like Encino Man, School Ties, and With Honors, Brendan Fraser was almost literally launched to stardom playing the title role in Disney's sleeper hit George of the Jungle.
But his role in 1999's The Mummy officially made him an A-list leading man.
Even though filming the horror/adventure blockbuster almost put an abrupt end to his career, not to mention his life.
During a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Fraser disclosed he nearly died when filming the picture's memorable not-quite execution scene.
When asked by Clarkson if it was true he "almost died" during the filming of the iconic film, Fraser confirmed he was "choked out accidentally" when filming the scene where his character, Rick O'Connell, is being hanged.
Fraser shared director Stephen Sommers wanted Fraser's pain and agony to be more realistic, and unfortunately for Fraser, Sommers got his wish.
"I was standing on my toes with the rope [around his neck], and you only got so far to go."
"And Stephen ran over and he said, ‘hey, you know, you’re choking — can you sell it?’"
"And I was like, ‘Alright, fine'."
"So I thought, ‘One more take, man."
Fraser immediately regretted his decision after things went frighteningly wrong, even though he confessed to remembering fairly little about the accident.
“The camera swooped around and I went up on the toes, and the guy holding the rope above me, he pulled it up a little higher."
"And I was stuck on my toes and I had nowhere to go but down.”
“So, he was pulling up and I was going down."
“The next thing I knew, my elbow was in my ear, the world was sideways and there was gravel in my teeth.”
“And everyone was really quiet.”
Thankfully, Fraser was woken up by the film's stunt coordinator, who alleviated the scary situation by telling Fraser the "same thing happened to Mel Gibson on Braveheart."
Clarkson showed her admiration for Fraser's bravery in the situation, confessing there was no way she would have agreed to do the same and would have instead told Sommers "the acting is fine, I'm not choking for you".
However, the situation wasn't traumatizing enough to dissuade Fraser from reprising his iconic role, as he would play the rugged Rick O'Connell twice more, in 2001's The Mummy Returns and in 2008's The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor.
Fraser took a noticeable absence from Hollywood after sexual assault accusations made against former Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Philip Berk saw him semi-blacklisted in Hollywood, which was not helped by his spiraling into a serious depression following his divorce and the death of his mother.
But recently, Fraser has made a comeback with his acclaimed performance in Darren Aronofsky’s film The Whale, earning the actor his first Academy Award nomination, with his recent win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards making him the apparent frontrunner to win Best Actor.
Fraser's return to the spotlight left fan's wondering if there's a possibility he might once again step into Rick O'Connell's boots for a fourth Mummy Film.
Fraser expressed interest in the possibility and based on the warm reception his appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show received from his fans, it looks like a 4th film in the Mummy franchise would have an excited and receptive audience.
"I LOVE Brendan Fraser. He's one of my absolute favorite actors."
"I would love to see a new Mummy movie, and get the original cast back. That would be a great movie."- SAMMI/YouTube
"A great performance. he deserves the Oscar."- yvonne shanson/YouTube
"He's one of my favorites. Huge fan of Brendan's work."- Tun-Tunn Inc./YouTube
"Haha he is hilarious and goofy, loved his personality and his voice too."- Tambayan's Club/YouTube
"Brendan is such a wonderful and versatile actor."- Robin Stewart/YouTube
"I didn't realize this happened to him too. Another example was during the filming of "Back to the Future Part III" when Michael J. Fox almost died while hanging from a rope."
"They thought he was joking around at first, but it wasn't much longer before they realized he wasn't."- bluebear1985/YouTube
"The Whale was good weird but pretty good, I love Brendan Frasier too he will always be one of my favorite actors thanks for putting yourself through hell to bring us amazing movies like The Mummy."- x_z0mb1_x/YouTube
"We all love you Brendan Fraser!!! You look so healthy and happy."- K Haily/YouTube
"Love him always."- TinaKii Elii/YouTube
"He is starting to look awesome again, good for him."- neoangelz/YouTube
Whether or not we'll get a new Mummy film with Fraser remains to be seen, but It seems clear Fraser's return to the franchise will at least fare better than Universal's 2017 attempt.
The film, also called The Mummy and featuring Tom Cruise in the lead, was intended to be the first film in Universal's "Dark Universe", a cinematic universe featuring Universal's iconic monsters including The Wolfman, Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with the latter two characters making an appearance in the film played by Russell Crowe.
Unfortunately, the film was a critical and commercial failure, putting an effective end to any further sequels, as well as the Dark Universe.
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