Interview mit Arnold Vosloo

 

Im September 2000 durfte ich während der Dreharbeiten zu The Mummy Returns telefonisch mit Arnold Vosloo über den neuen Film sprechen. Arnold erwies sich dabei als äußerst zuvorkommend, schließlich hätte er sich auf dieses in mehreren (!) Anrufen geführte Interview nicht einlassen müssen. Ich war schließlich ein absoluter "Nobody", hatte nichts mit der Presse zu tun (was im Grunde noch immer weitgehend zutrifft) und besaß keinerlei Routine in solchen Dingen. Vielleicht machte es deshalb umso mehr Spaß, mit Arnold zu reden, manchmal auch über alles andere als über den damals aktuellen Film...

Hier nun ein kleiner Ausschnitt aus dem Gespräch vom 11. September 2000. Zunächst erklärt Arnold die Ausgangssituation des Filmes bzw. die seines Charakters und dessen Geliebter. Anck-Su-Namun stirbt bereits am Anfang des ersten Teiles, The Mummy, wird jedoch wiedergeboren. Sie sorgt für die Wiederkunft Imhoteps in The Mummy Returns.

 

Anck-Su-Namun und Imhotep

Anck-Su-Namun & Imhotep
The Mummy Returns (2001)

AV: What happens is that she doesn't know but Anck-Su-Namun is obviously reincarnated into a character by the name Meela who's played by Patricia, the same girl that played my love in the first one. And her and a team of archaeologists just dig me up in Egypt, they dig me up and then they take me to London, to the British Museum, to the Egyptian exhibit and they wake me up in London and it's having 19.., it's about 8 or 9 years later from the original film. So it's like the thirtees. And, you know, wake me up and all hell breaks loose. And later in the film she comes to understand the only reason she did this is because she is reincarnated and a reincarnation of Meelah, of Ancksunamun and I have to perform a ritual that makes her come back alive.

CF: What's your role then as opposed to Rick/Brendan Fraser and the Scorpion King?

AV: Right. I mean I play virtually the same character, except that the circumstances, you know, to try and get the girl back etcetera etcetera, all that stuff's been complicated. And you know it's been made a little less linear and a little more difficult. You know but I have to overcome both Brendan - I have to basically sacrifice Brendan's child - and I have to overcome the Scorpion King in order to make Anck-Su-Namun, you know, realize who she is and to make her come back to life.

CF: So you are the tragic antagonist, I think.

AV: I hope so. Well, we'll see. You'll never know what happens in the editing room, but I hope so.

CF: So Rick is the hero, Scorpion King is the villain and you are the tragic one.

AV: There you go. That's right.

CF: And who kills you in the end?

AV: Well, in fact nobody kills me in the end. I do an interesting thing but I'm not sure what's it called. I'm not sure, you know, commit suicide, or if, you know, or if my heart gets broken. But it's maybe a combination of these two things.

CF: And you think you will return as the "Mummy 3"?

AV: The only way I return is if Steve Sommers is involved in some way. That's the only way I would return because, you know, with all respect to Brendan Steve Sommers is really the star [?] of The Mummy. You know, he's written it, he's directed it, he's written and directed the second one and he's just on fire, you know.

 

© Christine Fößmeier