Brendan Fraser, Ke Huy Quan, And The Beauty Of Actors Acknowledging Their Earliest Work
The career resurgences of Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan have been some of the most talked about Hollywood stories of 2022, with Fraser returning for a prominent leading role for the first time in ages, and Ke Huy Quan returning to the theatrical screen for the first time in 20 years. Both actors saw considerable success in their younger years, but due to a multitude of factors, including the result of systemic failures in the Hollywood system, both men fell out of the limelight. Now, Fraser and Quan are back, and seemingly guaranteed to nab Academy Award nominations for their work in "The Whale" and "Everything Everywhere All At Once," respectively.
Hollywood loves an underdog story just as much as they do a comeback tale, which positions the duo as "the ones to beat" in their respective categories. The pair have appeared in countless press events leading up toward awards season, but this run is not the first time Fraser and Quan have worked together. Back in 1992, in Fraser's breakthrough role and Quan's last American-produced theatrical film until this year, they both appeared in the teen comedy "Encino Man."
During The Hollywood Reporter's annual actors' roundtable, the two acknowledged their shared connection through "Encino Man," with Fraser telling Quan, "we're still here," bringing both men to the brink of tears. On paper, it sounds somewhat silly to imagine two grown men getting misty-eyed over the shared experience of being in a movie where Pauly Shore and Sean Astin thaw out a caveman who goes on to draw boobs with mustard on the glass of an ice rink, but this is the power and beauty that can be found when actors are unashamed to acknowledge their earliest work.
Embracing the so-called embarrassing past
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.
Every step is a journey
Brendan Fraser rightfully praised Ke Huy Quan's performance in "Everything Everywhere All At Once," but also acknowledged the steps it took for him to get to that place. Quan used to act under an Americanized name, as Hollywood has a nasty history of refusing to cast folks with "ethnic" (see: non-white) sounding names. "The journey that he's taken to come to this place has given him, I think, the role of his lifetime, and he's given the performance of his lifetime, and in many ways, I, like him, feel the same way," Fraser told Entertainment Weekly. "We gave it everything we had. We're both like, 'We're still here, man! We're still here.'"
Fraser and Quan have both had to fight their way back to the top, and the sentiment of "we're still here" feels like the rallying cry of the industry. It's doubtful that anyone who watched "Encino Man" in 1992 would have predicted that two of its performers would be in Oscar contention, considering the film boasts a whopping 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has developed a bit of a cult following over the years, but it serves as a reminder that there is value in every single film, no matter how "bad," "cringe," or "embarrassing" it may look on an actor's resume. A movie that contains lines like, "the only thing you have ever cared about was nugs, chillin' and grindage" is easy to write off as "lesser-than," but it's also the past connective tissue between actors who provided two of the best performances of 2022.
Everybody starts somewhere
When looking at the possible Oscar class of 2023, Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan aren't the only ones to have early roles that the public en masse would ignore, discredit, or dismiss as unimportant. One of Paul Dano's earliest roles includes starring in a Lifetime Original Movie called "Too Young to Be a Dad," while Michelle Williams starred in the critically panned "Timemaster" as a child. Now? They're both being hailed for their roles in "The Fabelmans." Austin Butler of "Elvis" fame got his start on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows, as did Keke Palmer who dazzled in "Nope."
Quan's "EEAAO" co-star Michelle Yeoh has starred in countless martial arts films over the years, many of which have been called "cheesy" or "schlocky," (those haters are wrong, for the record), and this is just scratching the surface. The point is this — none of us will ever know the impact, longevity, or butterfly effect a movie will have on a person's career. It's impossible to see a film and determine "Oh, this person will never work again" or "Wow, this movie is trash and devoid of all value." We all know that some genres are considered "more worthy" than others, and it's a shame that so many people in Hollywood are afraid to embrace the roles that helped them get to where they are now. Maybe it's because we as an audience (or critics) have conditioned them to think they're supposed to be ashamed of anything that isn't Oscar-caliber. I don't believe in guilty pleasures, but I do believe that no matter a subjective opinion on taste, there's always magic to be found in the movies. Yes, even the "bad" ones.