Actor John Hannah TWICE turned down the chance to star with Rachel Weisz in The Mummy franchise

By JOHN PAUL BRESLIN, WEEKEND NEWS EDITOR - SCOTLAND Published: 18:16, 4 July 2026 | Updated: 18:28, 4 July 2026 He is about to star in the fourth instalment of a billion-pound movie franchise with Oscar winners Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. However, Scots actor John Hannah said he has his agent and ‘the universe’ to thank for his part in blockbuster The Mummy after he initially turned it down TWICE. Hannah, who had already starred in films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Sliding Doors, said he was dismissive of the part when it was offered to him. It was only when his agent nagged him that he agreed to take on the role of treasure hunter and Egyptologist Jonathan Carnahan. Now, as he prepares to reprise his part in The Mummy 4, he has reflected on how close he came to missing out. Hannah, 64, admitted he was ‘pretentious’ when he was originally offered the part and more interested in taking on serious theatrical roles. ‘I turned it down twice, which was ironic given that I’m now going to be in the fourth one and it’s only Brendan and me that are in all four,’ he said. ‘There was something else I wanted to do – a dark European indie film that nobody’s ever heard of. Scots star John Hannah said he turned down his role in The Mummy twice  Co-star Rachel Weisz will join John Hannah in a fourth installment of the popular film series A younger John Hannah in Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994  ‘So, I was lucky in that one that my agent said, “John, don’t be stupid. Do that”.’ He added: ‘Sometimes it’s just the universe helping you out.’ The 1999 film was a remake of the original 1932 The Mummy movie starring Boris Karloff. Fraser and Hannah have appeared in all the films in the modern franchise, including 2001’s The Mummy Returns and 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The 1999 Mummy remake followed treasure hunter Rick O’Connell (Fraser) as he takes librarian Evelyn Carnahan (Weisz) and her brother Jonathan (Hannah) to Hamunaptra, City of the Dead, where they awaken the ancient mummy Imhotep. The film was a massive hit at the box office, taking in $418 million worldwide from an $80 million budget. Hannah said he got an insight into its popularity when he agreed to attend a fan convention last year for the first time in his career. Reflecting on another of his major movie roles, the actor said he had been similarly dismissive about the prospect of starring in Four Weddings and a Funeral – saying he thought it was ‘rubbish’. But he added: ‘I needed the job so I did it and I quickly learned what I don’t know.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.