Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor Ruined Brendan Fraser's Career

In an interview conducted with GQ in 2018, Fraser candidly revealed what exactly caused his hiatus from Hollywood. These days, he's re-entered the acting sphere, taking a major role as Cliff Steele (aka Robotman) in DC's "Doom Patrol" and appearing in "The Poison Rose" with John Travolta and Morgan Freeman. In the late 2000s, however, he was at the end of his rope from overexertion and injuries.

"By the time I did the third 'Mummy' picture in China ... I was put together with tape and ice," he told GQ. "Screw-cap ice packs and downhill-mountain-biking pads, 'cause they're small and light and they can fit under your clothes. I was building an exoskeleton for myself daily." Fraser was often his own stuntman, and injuries were not uncommon for the actor. After one too many injuries, he eventually needed to have surgery — and sometimes even those didn't go as planned.

"I needed a laminectomy. And the lumbar didn't take, so they had to do it again a year later," Fraser remembered. While it might not have been "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" directly that caused all of these injuries, it was the film that amplified them all in addition to adding new ones. Fraser also had a partial knee replacement and lots of work done on his back, which included "bolting various compressed spinal pads together." Additionally, the actor needed to have his vocal cords worked on. Fraser remembered being in and out of hospitals for just under seven years. He was broken and exhausted, and enough was enough.