Dwayne Johnson shares thoughtful comments about Brendan Fraser, explaining how the star helped him break into Hollywood with The Mummy Returns. Released in 2001 and directed by Stephen Sommers, the sequel to 1999’s The Mummy brought Fraser back as adventurer Rick O’Connell, this time to face off against a new threat in the form of Johnson’s Scorpion King.

Speaking on the New Heights podcast, Johnson addresses his jump into acting in the early 2000s and how Fraser championed this transition. “The very first movie I ever did was a movie called The Mummy Returns,” Johnson says. “Brendan Fraser was one of the biggest stars in the world, as he is today.”

Johnson recalls being “so excited to be cast in the film, [in] a small part called the Scorpion King.” The star then speaks about Fraser’s power as the franchise’s lead and how he used this to make sure Johnson felt welcome:

“Brendan Fraser, by the way, I always want to make mention of this. He was one of the biggest stars in the world. That was his franchise. I am coming in, I have never acted before, I’m excited. He could have easily said, ‘I don’t know if I want this wrestler.'”

Fraser, Johnson explains, “embraced me. I love that man for that, and he helped kick off my career.” Even though Johnson appears for only “five minutes total” and “just in the beginning of the movie and at the end,” he stresses that he “was just so excited at the opportunity.”

The Mummy Returns may not have been received as well critically as the first movie, but it was still a big success. The action adventure movie grossed over $433 million worldwide on an estimated $98 million budget.

The film was such a success that it led to Johnson getting his very own spinoff the next year in the form of The Scorpion King. This spinoff wasn’t particularly well-received and didn’t repeat The Mummy Returns‘ commercial success, but it did help to solidify Johnson as a movie star.

Today, of course, Johnson remains one of the biggest movie stars working in Hollywood. Though he and Fraser have not collaborated on another film since The Mummy Returns, both actors continue to champion each other and speak fondly of their experience working together. Speaking to People in September, Fraser expressed his excitement about watching Johnson in The Smashing Machine (2025), Benny Safdie’s new wrestling biopic:

“Dwayne, he’s a really great guy and it’s gonna be exciting to watch him emerge from this. I predict you’ll be seeing a lot more of him on these red carpets in the days to come.”

As for Fraser, he too remains active as an actor, recently appearing in Hikari’s Rental Family (2025), which earned glowing reviews from critics. Rental Family arrives two years after Fraser won an Oscar for his role in The Whale (2022).

With The Smashing Machine, it’s possible that Johnson, too, could receive recognition at the Academy Awards, with his role as Mark Kerr representing a major shift away from his typical blockbuster movie roles. Whether or not Johnson is honored at the Oscars, though, it’s clear that Fraser and The Mummy Returns helped to pave the way for his current success.