Every Actor Who Played The Mummy (Original Movies & Reboots) – Screen Rant

The Mummy (1932) with Boris Karloff started a popular monster franchise. Since the Karloff classic, several actors have portrayed the iconic monster.

One of the first of the iconic Universal monsters was The Mummy (1932), with Boris Karloff portraying the resurrected high priest Imhotep. Karloff is one of the best known actors to fill the role, but others have stepped in during Universal's original run and in the movie reboots. Released just a year after the studios first two big forays into pre-code horror,Dracula and Frankenstein, it eventually led to several interrelated follow-ups in the 1940s. Over 40 years later, the studio rebooted the franchise using an action framework to appeal to a broader audience.

Universals first reboot of the original was also the first follow-up to the 1932 release. The Mummys Hand (1940) introduced an entirely new storyline and a different mummy character named Kharis. This iteration of the restless zombie would continue in three follow-ups and the 1955 comedy,Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy. Though some form of the monster has appeared onscreen throughout the years, Universal didnt revisit the property again until 1999 with director Stephen Summers The Mummy.

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Several different actors, both men and women, have played the role of the mummy throughout the studios long history with the character. From the original classic to the 2017 reboot with Tom Cruise, performers both famous and relatively unknown have risen from the Egyptian sarcophagus. Here are all the actors to have played the undead menace to date.

Right after his memorable turn as the monster in James Whales Frankenstein (1931), Karloff appeared as another iconic fiend. Misremembered by many as a stumbling, mummified villain, the role of the resurrected high priest Imhotep mainly appears in human form. More along the lines of the imposing Count Dracula, once the character is revived, he takes on the human persona of Ardeth Bay.

Eight years later, when Universal was reviving its monster franchises for a new generation, they released this reboot. Unrelated to the 1932 film, The Mummys Hand presented a loose remake that was told in a more dynamic way. Stuntman Tom Tyler gave a memorable performance as the new character Kharis, revived and searching for his love Princess Ananka. Fans and critics often point to Tylers mummy as the scariest incarnation, partly attributed to the studio removing his eyes in post-production, giving him an otherworldly menace.

After the success of The Mummys Hand, Universal continued to make direct sequels loosely following the Kharis storyline. They gave the role to their go-to genre star Lon Chaney Jr., who had already appeared as werewolf Larry Talbot in their successful version ofThe Wolf Man (1941). The same year he appeared in The Mummys Tomb, Chaney played both Dracula and Frankensteins monster in their franchise sequels. The actor, who was the son of silent film star Lon Chaney, was the marquee name for many of the classic Universal monster follow-ups in the 1940s.

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After a decade away from the screen, the mummy returned in the final film comedy team Abbot and Costello made for Universal. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello had appeared in films for years, but their popularity at the box office began to wane in the late 1940s. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) was a huge hit for them and began a string of films where they met famous Universal monsters. Stuntman Eddie Parker, who had been Lon Chaneys double in many of his Mummy films, played the wrapped fiend Klaris in this iteration.

When Universal decided to resurrect the property in the late 90s, it was highly influenced by popular action films from the previous couple of decades. In the expensiveBrendan Fraser-led reimagining of the 1932 classic, actor Arnold Vosloo plays the title character, the high priest Imhotep. Reawakened through an incantation read from the Book of the Dead, the priest returns on a quest for his lost love Anck-Su-Namun. The success of the 1999 film led to a direct sequel in 2001. In The Mummy Returns, Vosloo returned as Imhotep, once again determined to reunite with the reincarnated Anck-Su-Namun.

In this second follow-up to the 1999 reboot, Jet Li plays Emperor Han, who was turned to clay along with his soldiers by a sorceress. Though not technically a mummy, the characteronce reanimatedis another undead menace wreaking havoc for world domination.

In this reboot of the previous series, Universal attempted to create a Marvel Universe-type franchise with a variety of monster characters. Christened Universals Dark Universe, The Mummy was a box office failure, and marked the first and the last in the series. Sofia Boutella played the mummified Princess Ahmanet who, through possession and cannibalism, attempts to bring her former body back to life.

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Every Actor Who Played The Mummy (Original Movies & Reboots) - Screen Rant