Filmmaking can be extremely dangerous, and while those involved take every precaution to make sure that injuries are avoided, accidents can always happen. That's exactly what transpired during production on The Mummy, as Sofia Boutella found herself smacked straight on the nose by the lid of a sarcophagus. A stone coffin is a rather unforgiving creation, and it immediately caused Sofia Boutella's nose to bleed uncontrollably.
During her retelling of this story Sofia Boutella explained that she had to spend a full day of filming being mummified and then lowered into the sarcophagus. This was clearly a rather unbearable day for the actress, as her mummification costume consisted of three pieces, one of which covered her bottom, the second of which was on her torso, while the last was wrapped around her head. All the while her hands were locked and touching their opposing shoulders to create an X across her chest. This meant that she wasn't able to use her mouth and limbs at the same, while the added bonus of being lowered into a coffin meant that the entire experience was rather unsettling. In order to get the angle he desired, director Alex Kurtzman needed to film a top shot of the sarcophagus going over Sofia Boutella's head. This is when disaster struck, though, as Sofia Boutella recalled:
What happened that one take they were about to put the lid, but the lid tilted inside and it hit my nose on the side. And meanwhile I'm still paralyzed, and I still can't talk. I just screamed internally as much as I could. And then they called, 'Cut.' And immediately somebody came and pulled the lid and then they tilted me up, and then they removed the headpiece and then blood was just streaming out of my nose. It was like Niagara Falls of blood. Not fun. And everyone was freaking out. But it was OK, we kept filming, and my nose was fine. Weirdly enough. I could have lost it that day.
Thankfully The Mummy's production schedule wasn't completely wrecked by this injury, which the actress revealed to Yahoo Movies, as Sofia Boutella is such a trooper that she was able to basically shake it off and then get straight back to work. If that had been me, I'd have immediately run off the set to the nearest phone to call my mother for comfort.
The Mummy is yet further proof of just how compelling a screen presence Sofia Boutella is. Because even though she has very little dialogue, and what she does speak is in Egyptian, she's still able to be utterly alluring as the titular creature/Princess Ahmanet. You can check out Sofia Boutella's performances as Princess Ahmanet in The Mummy this very moment, as the blockbuster is now in theaters across the country.
Universal is hoping that this will kick start its Dark Universe, which, if everything goes according to plan, will see The Mummy followed by Bride Of Frankenstein, Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, Van Helsing, Wolf-Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, Phantom Of The Opera and Hunchback Of Notre Dame films.
