Fate appears to have had it in for Kevin J. O’Connor during the filming of The Mummy. His ego in particular took a bit of a battering. Aside from being snubbed by all the camels, O’Connor experienced some dramas on-set that hit a little closer to home.
His character, Beni, took a bit of a beating in the Egyptologist’s office. Unfortunately, Beni’s pain wasn’t all just good acting on O’Connor’s part. While shooting that scene, the poor guy was genuinely injured. He suffered bruising and had to be brought to medical attention… to have his nipples iced. Unfortunately, no amount of ice can soothe a bruised ego.
Improvised Gags
When we watch movies, there are scenes that just stay in our minds, impossible to forget; which, of course, makes us love those films even more. In The Mummy, a number of fan-favorite scenes like this were, as it turns out, invented completely on the fly!
The moment when Rick jumps from the burning boat, telling the dodgy Egyptian warden “I’ll be right back” (while clearly abandoning him to the flames and swords onboard) was invented by the film’s director in a moment of inspiration that woke him from sleep the night before. And Beni’s odious plea for the mummy to “think about my children” (which he fails to mention are non-existent), just spilled out of actor Kevin J. O’Connor’s mouth in the moment!
Could Have Been Leo
Did you know that your favorite character in The Mummy, Rick O’Connell, could have been played by the one and only Leonardo DiCaprio? DiCaprio apparently would have loved to take the role, but the timing just didn’t work out. He had recently signed to be the main character for The Beach, but was dying to be in The Mummy.
He even pushed the production team of The Beach to see if they could delay filming, but they refused and the rest is history. Leo must have been fuming though, because filming for The Beach ended up being delayed anyway. Unfortunately for DiCaprio, it was all too late. But really, could you imagine anyone other than Brendan Fraser playing Rick?
The Trick
In this modern day and age, we all know how green screens work, right? For The Mummy actors, they were a newly evolving technology and no-one was yet used to working with them for the majority of filming. Under these new constraints, it was difficult for the actors to have a feel for where they were, and the action that was going on around them.
Accessing the requisite emotions to achieve an outstanding scene was a challenge. So, the crew devised an awkward scheme to draw the terror and dread they needed from the actors. Photos of Arnold Vosloo in full, CGI-enhanced mummy get-up were displayed for the actors. While their methods were old-school, they did seem to do the trick!
A Reboot
An interesting phenomenon occurs as the credits roll for each installment of The Mummy franchise. From the moment they leave cinemas, fans commence clamoring for the next installment. Aware of this by the time they’d wrapped the third installment, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, in 2008, the production team immediately began preparations for another launch.
It was titled The Mummy: Rise of the Aztec. Fraser, Bello, Hannah, and Ford were named as the actors of that sequel. And Antonio Banderas would play the antagonist. What a lineup! But after all the preparations and excitement, Universal Studios canceled the film, waiting until 2017 to release a reboot. It was quite a long wait for the fans.