After the extraordinary year of cinema, we experienced in 2022 (check out the top 10 movies of that year among the CinemaBlend staff), it’s hard to imagine that Ke Huy Quan and Brendan Fraser wouldn’t be the talk of the town. Still, in a parallel universe, we may have lost both of their talents to obscurity. Luckily for us, both the actors received starring roles in two incredible movies that reintroduced them to long-time fans and new audiences alike. Well, the Everything Everywhere All At Once actor is gushing over his long-time friend’s performance in The Whale.
The Hollywood Reporter released their annual Actors Roundtable series just in time for award season. The discussion includes several actors who starred in high-profile projects. Toward the end of the talk, Ke Huy Quan took a moment to join the chorus singing the praise for Brendan Fraser’s dramatic turn in Darren Aronofsky’s adaptation of the play of the same name. The Goonies actor says the only mistake he made watching The Whale was forgetting to bring tissues. The actor said:
I made one mistake while watching that movie [The Whale’], not bringing a tissue. I was on the phone for two hours, calling everyone I know, and I said, ‘You have got to see this movie, The Whale, when it comes out’ … I was blown away by your performance, Brendan. You know we go way back … we worked together on a movie called the Encino Man in 1991.
Ke Huy Quan’s compliments moved The Mummy actor to tears. As Fraser thanked his Encino Man costar, he added, “We are still here,” a sentiment that Quan admitted ‘broke him’ when Fraser had said it to him earlier before the roundtable discussion.
Yeah, you broke me with that line out there. We saw each other out there [pointing off stage] after all these years and gave each other a hug, and he said, ‘Ke, we are still here. We are still here.’
Ke Huy Quan returned to acting after a 30-year hiatus in Everything Everywhere all at Once, a performance for which he received a Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture and has generated Oscars buzz. The Temple of Doom star’s last significant performance in a theatrical release was staring opposite Brendan Fraser in the 1992 caveman comedy release Encino Man. After that, the actor says the offers stopped coming in, and he turned his attention to working behind the camera. However, after a series of coincidences and (unexpectedly) because of his performance in The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the 50-year-old actor is back and is better than ever in A24’s 2022 box office hit.
THR’s Actors Roundtable also included Austin Butler (Elvis), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Jeremy Pope (The Inspection), and Adam Sandler (Hustle). You can watch the full video below.
Thanks to Brendan Fraser’s high-profile Hollywood comeback, there have been a lot of talks about reviving some of his past hit film franchises, like The Mummy (which the actor has one question about) and maybe even make a sequel to Encino Man. Ironically, the other star of the 1992 comedy is Quan’s Goonies costar Sean Astin; a sequel to the 1985 Richard Donner cult classic has been rumored to be in the works for almost 30 years. Who knows, maybe both projects will be revived, and the next few years may very well be the years of Fraser and Quan.
Sequels to Encino Man or The Goonies would be great, but if they don’t happen, I’m happy we live in the corner of the multiverse where these two actors are back and better than ever.