Arnold Vosloo
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Arnold Vosloo (born 16 June, 1962 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a South African actor, now a naturalized American, best known for playing the title role in the 1999 film The Mummy, and its sequel, The Mummy Returns.
Early Career
Vosloo was born into an acting family, his parents having been stage-actors, and the family moved around a bit. They lived in Port Elizabeth where his father ran a drive-in theatre, and Alberton respectively. He began his acting career in the South African theatre where he won several Dalro Awards for plays such as Don Juan, Hamlet, and Môre is 'n Lang Dag ("Tomorrow is a long day") and he quickly became a regular in Pretoria's State Theatre. He also starred in Torch Song Trilogy and won another award for the TV show Meisie van Suid-Wes (Girl from South-West-Africa). In 1984, he moved on to film where he continued Dalro Award winning performances in films such as Boetie gaan Border toe (Little brother goes to the border, a comedy about the Border War), and Circles in a Forest (based on the book Kringe in 'n Bos by author Dalene Matthee in 1990. Vosloo also starred in the "Boetie" sequel Boetie op Maneuvers (Boetie on Maneuvers) in 1986.Vosloo also starred in Morenga (1985), Saturday Night at The Palace (based on the play by Paul Slabolepszy about racism in South Africa), Skeleton Coast (1987) and The Rutanga Tapes (1990).
Hollywood Career
In 1988, Vosloo became naturalized American citizen; and married his Act of Piracy (1988) co-star Nancy Mulford. The couple divorced after three years.Upon arriving in the U.S., Vosloo returned to the theatre where he appeared in Born In The R.S.A. at Chicago's Northlight Theatre and in the Circle In The Square Uptown's short-lived production of Salomé (1992) together with Al Pacino. In 1998, he remarried, this time to Sylivia Ahi, a Mexican-American marketing director.
His American movie debut was in ' (1992). He later appeared in the two less successful sequels to the 1990 horror blockbuster Darkman — ' (1994) and ) filling the shoes of Liam Neeson as Darkman. (Darkman is a scientist named Peyton Westlake scarred and badly burnt, who wears synthetic skin that dissolves in light. As a result of his accident, the doctors were forced to remove his nerve endings thus giving him the inability to feel pain and unbelievable strength. Thus he becomes Darkman, a superhero of sorts who seeks to avenge mobster Robert Durant (played by Larry Drake) who was responsible for destroying his life.)
Vosloo appeared in the title role of the 1999 movie The Mummy (starring Brendan Fraser), as well as its 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns. In both films he played Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian high priest.
Both movies were smash hits and a spin off (without Vosloo) named The Scorpion King was produced with The Rock in the title role. In 2004, opened in both Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood and Orlando. Vosloo and Fraser were there to promote the new ride, which features a life size image of Vosloo as the Mummy.
Alongside his movie career, he guest starred in several TV shows including The Red Shoe Diaries, American Gothic (1995), Nash Bridges (1995), Charmed (2000), and Alias (2004). He also had a major role in the fourth season of 24 (2005), as terrorist leader Habib Marwan.
In 2004 Vosloo returned to South Africa to make Forgiveness, about an ex-policeman who seeks out the family of the anti-Apartheid activist that he killed.
Recently Vosloo has been involved in video games: His likeness, as well as his voice, was chosen for main hero (Saul Myers) of video game , published in summer of 2005 by ATARI.
Trivia
- His nicknames are "Arny", "Boetie" or "Boeta" (no doubt from his breakthrough role in South Africa).
- He has one sister named Nadia.
- Vosloo's father once worked as a carpenter and made a dinner table, that seats 24, which was given as a gift to Queen Elizabeth on her visit (she was still Princess Elizabeth then) to South Africa in 1947.
External links
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