Brendan Fraser reveals that he “nearly” died while filming a particular scene in Mummies.
In the first installment of the series, there is a hangman scene and the rope around his neck is overly tightened throughout the scene.
“I was on tiptoe like this, with the rope [around my neck]and you have so far to go,” Fraser said above The Kelly Clarkson Show. “And [director] Stephen [Sommers] ran over, and he said, ‘Hey, it’s not really like you, you know, choking – can you sell it?’ And I was like, ‘Okay, fine.’ So I thought, ‘One more time, man.’”
As the director entered the final shot, Fraser stood on tiptoe and the crew member holding the rope above him pulled it a little higher.
“I was on tiptoes — I had nowhere to go but to go down,” Whale the actor told the presenter. “And so he pulled up, and I went down, and the next thing I knew my elbow was in my ear, the world tilted to one side, there was gravel in my teeth and everyone was really quiet.” he recalls.
When the stunt coordinator woke him up, he happily told him, “Congrats, you’re in the club — same thing happened to Mel Gibson in Brave Heart.” The actor joked that he could only reply, “Thanks, I think?! I want to go home!”
From MummiesFraser has gone on to star in projects such as Journey To The Center Of The Earth, Collapse, Extraordinary Measures and his most recent one, Whale, for which he received several best actor nominations, including an Oscar. So far, in this awards season, he’s taken home a critic’s award and an SAG award for his portrayal of Charlie in the film.
