Dwayne Johnson obtained the prospect to thank Brendan Fraser for “altering” his life on The Mummy Returns. Fraser starred in a brand new Mummy franchise in 1999 with Rachel Weisz. After the primary movie turned a success, a sequel was greenlit, with Johnson becoming a member of the solid as Mathayus the Scorpion King after making a reputation for himself as a wrestler.
Throughout the newest installment of Selection and CNN’s Actors on Actors sequence, the 2 celebrities mentioned their careers, together with working collectively on The Mummy Returns. Johnson showered Fraser with large reward for not turning him away when he tried to get his begin within the leisure trade as an actor.
When Johnson first expressed curiosity in The Mummy Returns, he heard again by way of the grapevine that Fraser “love[d] the thought” of the wrestler taking part in a job within the movie and “welcomed [him] with open arms.”
In response to Johnson, it was a significant threat to solid him in The Mummy Returns as a result of he had by no means acted earlier than, and this was a massively profitable franchise, so it meant an important deal to him that Fraser and the manufacturing staff had been on board with the casting determination.
“I’d love to begin off our dialog by supplying you with flowers. OK? I’m going to ship numerous flowers to the doorstep proper now. You and I first related on The Mummy Returns. That was one of many largest franchises on the planet at the moment. I used to be able to make my transition into Hollywood. And there was a second the place you possibly can have mentioned, ‘This man, Dwayne Johnson, he’s by no means acted earlier than; he’s in professional wrestling.’ The phrase I obtained again was, ‘Brendan loves the thought. He welcomed you with open arms.’ It meant one thing to me, since you took a threat on me, and years later, you and I are sitting right here. I wish to thanks for actually altering my life.”
Johnson’s movie debut in The Mummy Returns ended up “actually altering my life.” His transition from wrestler to actor was seamless, and he initially stayed inside the Mummy franchise by starring in a by-product referred to as The Scorpion King, which launched 4 sequels.
Johnson has appeared in a number of different motion pictures, together with The Recreation Plan, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Hercules, Moana, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Skyscraper, Jungle Cruise, Purple Discover, Black Adam, and several other Quick and the Livid movies.
After Fraser was given his flowers by Johnson, the actor acknowledged that the previous wrestler was the “proper man for the job.” Whereas Fraser wasn’t really conversant in Johnson beforehand, he noticed some footage of the soon-to-be motion star and located him to be an “impressed” alternative.
When it got here to casting the position of the Scorpion King, the producers wanted somebody whom the viewers may “like to hate,” somebody with “numerous confidence and perception” in addition to “huge power,” and Johnson undoubtedly match the invoice.
“You’re too type, Dwayne. You had been all the time the best man for the job. Once I was informed that you just had been a risk for it, forgive me, however I didn’t know you from the wrestling world. And after I was proven, I mentioned, ‘That’s impressed casting. We’d be fortunate to get the man.’ You want a stadium persona to play a villain you like to hate. It’s going to take numerous confidence and perception. Within the wrestling world, you had been portray with a 10-inch brush — you must have huge power.”
The remaining, because the saying goes, was historical past as a result of The Mummy Returns grossed $435 million in opposition to a $98 million funds, which is essentially the most profitable movie within the franchise. Nonetheless, critics weren’t almost as type, although. Whereas the primary movie earned a 63% Rotten Tomatoes rating (and an viewers rating of 75%), the sequel was designated a Rotten film at 46%.
|
Brendan Fraser’s Mummy Trilogy |
Rotten Tomatoes Rating (Critics) |
Rotten Tomatoes Rating (Viewers) |
|
The Mummy (1999) |
63% |
75% |
|
The Mummy Returns (2001) |
46% |
63% |
|
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) |
13% |
30% |
It was introduced final month that Fraser will return for a fourth movie with co-star Weisz, with the actor claiming that the following installment is the Mummy film he is all the time needed to make.
Whereas it is unknown if Fraser and Johnson will ever work collectively once more, The Mummy Returns was an unforgettable expertise for each actors and launched the performing profession for Johnson.
- Launch Date
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Might 4, 2001
- Runtime
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130 minutes
- Director
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Stephen Sommers
- Writers
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Stephen Sommers, Richard Schayer, Nina Wilcox Putnam, Lloyd Fonvielle, Kevin Jarre, John L. Balderston
- Producers
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James Jacks
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Rachel Weisz
Evelyn O’Connell / Nefertiri