Fehr Revels In 'Return' Of 'Mummy'

You would think that the Hollywood premiere of "The Mummy Returns" Sunday night would have been the pinnacle moment for anyone involved in the highly anticipated sequel to one of the biggest movie blockbusters of 1999.

That is, anyone except for Oded Fehr ? who's actually bubbling with anticipation about a Monday's special private screening of the film. Fehr ? who won raves for his role as the mysterious Ardeth Bay in the 1999 film -- will be hosting a sneak peek of the movie at Universal Studios in Los Angeles to benefit the Kids Cancer Connection, a charity that helps children cope with cancer.

"I'm a bit more nervous about that than anything else," Fehr told me in a recent interview. "All of the actors have been so great. They're going to do their best to show up and they've all signed photos for the charity for me. It takes so little for us to help so much. If we can help a child with cancer's standard of living -- if we can help with fear and help with the family, we're giving them a better chance of surviving."

Needless to say, Fehr is savoring every moment of his success, and he's giving back to the community as a thank-you note. And if writer-director Stephen Sommers wouldn't have had the moxie to change his own script with the original "Mummy" in 1999, Fehr's happy ending -- and beginning -- is one that we might not have seen.

"In the original script, I didn't survive," Fehr said. "I sacrificed myself to save the others."

But impressed with Fehr's charisma on the set and the foresight of the character's popularity, Sommers decided after four weeks of shooting in Morocco that Ardeth should live. The result was the scene at the end of the movie where he startles Rick (Brendan Fraser), Evie (Rachel Weisz) and Jonathan (John Hannah) with his reappearance.

For Fehr, it was a wonderful validation of his acting skills. "It's the biggest compliment I ever could have asked for," he enthused.

But most importantly, it gave Fehr the opportunity to work with Sommers again for "The Mummy Returns." Fehr, of course, jumped at the opportunity, as did all of the original cast and nearly all of the original crewmembers. Simply put, Sommers endless enthusiasm for filmmaking was infectious -- and his respect for his co-workers inspires an amazing loyalty.

"It wasn't such a great task to get everybody back for the second film because working on the first one was such a wonderful experience," said Fehr. "Everybody has so much fun working with each other and with Steve. People just love him. He's gives so much energy and works the hardest of everybody. And, he does amazing work ? everybody wanted to work with him again. Everybody wanted to.

'Returning' To 'The Mummy'

There's no question that the pressure was on to duplicate, if not exceed, the worldwide success of "The Mummy" with "The Mummy Returns," but with 98 percent of the cast and crew returning to the fold, Fehr and his fellow actors took the next step forward with great ease. Perhaps what made the transition easiest for everyone was the mutual respect all the actors had for one another.

"There was nobody there that was a star -- nobody that thought they any more special than anybody else," Fehr said. "We were all looking forward to working with each other again, and the wonderful thing was that we knew how our characters reacted to one another. We just picked it up where we left off."

Even with the chemistry in place, Sommers didn't rest on his laurels, said Fehr. Instead of being tossed from one adventure into another, the writer-director smartly had his characters evolve from the previous film. Set nine years later, Rick O'Connell and Evie are now married and have a son (Freddie Boath), who serves as a catalyst for the new predicament they get themselves into with the mummy.

"There's a lot more depth to the relationships between the different characters," described Fehr of his role in the film. "The bond between Ardeth Bay and the O'Connell's is much, much stronger."

As for his own efforts to develop the character, Fehr said got into shape both mentally and physically, to make Ardeth "more of a desert man, more of a fighter." He went into training to improve his swordfighting skills and most importantly, learned how to hold his own on horseback.

On the commentary track on the new "Mummy" ultimate DVD, Fehr jokes with co-stars Arnold Vosloo (Im Ho Tep/The Mummy) and Kevin J. O'Connor (Beni) about how little horseplay he was involved with, despite appearances to the contrary. But there was no doubt in Fehr's mind this time around that he -- and not a stunt person -- was going to kick up his heels for the maximum screen effect.

"When you're able to do it, you give the director a lot more possibilities," Fehr said. "You give him the choice of filming it whichever way he wants. It made the battle scenes that much more impressive and intense. When you use a stunt guy, he can't come in close and shoot from the angles he wants to shoot from."

Enhancing the performances of the characters, of course, is yet another eye-popping round of special effects from the John Berton and the wizards at Industrial Light and Magic.

"The effects are so much more advanced and so much more real," said Fehr. "It's very frightening how real it looks. From the nine-foot tall Anubis warrior creatures to the little pygmy mummies, it's absolutely amazing."

But no matter how advanced the special effects become, Fehr said the skill of imagination must remain sharply intact. Among his special effects scenes in the film is a spectacular scene where Ardeth leads a fight against the Anubis warriors.

"It's hard work, but you try to do your best," Fehr said. "You have to really concentrate. You try to learn the move of the fight like a dance. Once you have it down you've got to keep the level of intensity there. It's definitely an experience."

In addition to "working" with the Anubis warriors, Fehr co-starred with another "giant" in a respect ? the wrestling superstar The Rock. Fehr was impressed with the feature film debut of the popular wrestler, who plays the pivotal role of the Scorpion King.

"He does a marvelous job in the movie," said Fehr. "He's got heart and a really good head on his shoulders. He's really dedicated. I will not be surprised if a few years from now he becomes a huge star."

Fehr's Future

While nobody's career in Hollywood is "rock" solid, you have to admit that Fehr's career opportunities look extremely promising. His success with "The Mummy" (and very likely "The Mummy Returns") has put him in the comfortable position to say "no" to scripts, and effectively steering clear of every actor's nightmare: Being typecast.

"It's always difficult to turn down things," Fehr said. "I'm not in the situation where I can say, 'I have enough money forever and ever and I don't need anything.' But in order to have a good long career, one must do as many different things as possible. I need to do other things or I fear that I'll be doing the same things for the rest of my life.

"I hope the next job people see me in is a much smaller film, no special effects and not necessarily ethnic, just a nice sweet love story."

If anything, he wouldn't mind getting back together with Sommers and the rest of "The Mummy Returns" company for yet another film ? with one slight difference.

"Sommers kept joking on the set that we all have to get together to do another movie, but it'll just be about a couple of guys sitting on the beach in Los Angeles," Fehr mused. "They'll just be talking. That'll be the whole movie."

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