credit: The Mummy
The Mummy (1999) may have been the first film about mummies many of us saw, but in actuality, it was a remake of the original 1932 The Mummy. The audience reception and box office success led to two sequels, The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).
18 years after the release of this movie, a reboot and new franchise saw the release of The Mummy (2017) with Tom Cruise as its lead actor. As a recap of 1999 The Mummy, here is the movie’s cast.
Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser)
credit: The Mummy
Brendan Fraser was the face of The Mummy for quite a long time. He played Rick O’Connell, the movie’s main protagonist, who’s an American adventurer. He leads Evelyn, Jonathan, and their group of American hunters to Hamunaptra.
When a risen Imhotep captures Evelyn and takes her back to Hamunaptra with Beni, Rick leads the rescue team to save Evelyn. He battles Imhotep and wounds him after he’s been turned into a mortal as a result of Evelyn reading the Book of Amun-Ra.
Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz)
credit: The Mummy
Rachel Weisz plays Evelyn, a librarian and an aspiring Egyptologist. She gets interested when her brother, Jonathan, presents her with a box and map to find ancient Hamunaptra. After convincing Rick to help find Hamunaptra, she excavates the black Book of the Dead.
She unknowingly awakens Imhotep when she reads the content of the book aloud. Later, when they return to Cairo, Imhotep captures her with hopes of sacrificing her in Hamunaptra to awaken his love, Anck-Su-namun.
She fights alongside Rick, Jonathan, and Ardeth to defeat Imhotep and make him mortal.
Jonathan Carnahan (John Hannah)
credit: The Mummy
Jonathan Carnahan begins by stealing a box and a map to Hamunaptra from Rick O’Connell. He hands the box and map to his curious younger sister, Evelyn. Jonathan joins her to convince Rick to show them the way to Hamunaptra.
When Evelyn gets abducted by Imhotep, Jonathan accompanies Rick and Ardeth back to Hamunaptra.
Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo)
credit: The Mummy
Arnold Vosloo gave life to the character Imhotep. Imhotep’s story begins in 1290 BC in ancient Egypt. He was the high priest when Pharaoh Seti I was King of Egypt. He has an affair with Pharaoh’s mistress, Anck-su-namun.
Imhotep and Anck-su-namun conspire to kill the Pharaoh when he discovers their affair. For fear of any repercussions for killing the Pharaoh, Imhotep flees the palace. Anck-su-namun kills herself, hoping her lover, Imhotep, can revive her again.
Imhotep dares the gods of Egypt and goes deep into the City of the Dead with Anck-su-namun’s corpse. He almost completes the ritual of resurrecting Anck-su-namun but is interrupted by the Pharaoh’s bodyguards, the Medjai.
They mummify Imhotep’s priests alive and bury Imhotep alive in a sarcophagus with flesh-eating scarab beetles. Then, in 1923 AD, Imhotep awakens when Evelyn reads the black Book of the Dead. Resurrected, Imhotep seeks to finish what he started—to revive his lover, Anck-su-namun.
Beni Gabor (Kevin J. O’Connor)
credit: The Mummy
When Rick takes Evelyn and her brother, Jonathan, to Hamunaptra, he meets Beni leading other American treasure hunters on an expedition. Beni is acquainted with Rick and joins Rick’s team to excavate the city of Hamunaptra.
When Imhotep awakens, Beni chooses to serve him. He brings Imhotep back to Cairo and helps him regain his strength by killing other expedition members. But, in the end, Beni gets killed as he tries to loot the treasures in the city.
Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr)
credit: The Mummy
When the Medjai successfully buries Imhotep with flesh-eating scarab beetles, they take an oath to protect the tomb and prevent Imhotep from ever rising again. Ardeth is the leader of the Medjai in present-day Egypt.
He warns Rick, Jonathan, and Evelyn to stay away from Hamunaptra. But the trio ignores him and goes on and excavates the black Book of the Dead. Finally, Imhotep awakes in present-day Egypt, and Ardeth joins forces with Rick and Jonathan to rescue Evelyn.
When they successfully defeat Imhotep, Ardeth bids the team and their treasures goodbye.
Anck-su-namun (Patricia Velásquez)
credit: The Mummy
Anck-su-namun is the mistress of Pharaoh Seti I. She starts an affair with high priest Imhotep in 1290 BC and gets caught by the Pharaoh. After conspiring with Imhotep to kill the Pharaoh, Anck-su-namun kills herself. However, she’s certain her lover Imhotep will bring her back from the dead.
Imhotep removes her vital organs and places them in five canopic jars. However, things don’t go as planned, as the ritual is stopped before it can be completed. While her spirit manages to rest on her body briefly, it returns when the ritual is interrupted.
