Every few months or so, different film publications will publish articles about Hollywood A-listers who got their start in horror movies (ourselves included), or provide click-baity listicles with titles like “Check Out This Star’s Terrible First Movie!” Stars often comment on their earlier roles with regret, like Chris Pratt calling his feature debut “the worst movie [he’s] ever seen.” Of course, we’re not here to tell some celebrity with more money than god how to feel about their own career, but “I’m embarrassed by my first movie” stories are a dime a dozen. Hearing Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan look back at working together on “Encino Man” and bring it full circle with “we’re still here” is nothing short of inspiring.
“Encino Man” marks two entirely different milestones for the two actors; Fraser played the titular caveman and earned a nomination for Most Promising Actor from the Chicago Film Critics Association Award, while Quan, after starring in the massively popular “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies” as a child, basically disappeared from the industry. Quan plays Kim, the president of the computer club and a “nerd” that Fraser’s “Link” befriends. It’s a small but impactful role, played by an actor Fraser never forgot.
“I saw ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ and I was like, ‘This is the most awesome movie that’s ever been made.’ I love this picture. I love Michelle [Yeoh] in this; she’s an old friend, and [when I saw it] I went, hang on, I know him,” Fraser told Entertainment Weekly of seeing Quan in the film. His enjoyment of the movie was immediately heightened because he wasn’t just seeing an amazing performance from a gifted actor — he was seeing his friend succeed after all these years.