Ke Huy Quan and Brendan Fraser Have Emotional Encino Man Reunion Over 30 Years Later
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Awards season darlings Ke Huy Quan and Brendan Fraser are catching up for the first time in decades!
At the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards on Sunday night, the Everything Everywhere All at Once star, 51, reflected on seeing Fraser, 54, for the first time in "almost 32 years" as they both took home awards for best supporting actor and best actor, respectively.
"It was great to see him again. I love him in The Whale," Quan told reporters of Fraser, with whom he costarred in the 1992 comedy Encino Man, in the press room after accepting his award on Sunday. "What a powerful performance."
Quan noted that Fraser "gave me a big hug and put his arm on my shoulder" when they "saw each other for the first time after 30 years" as both actors emerged as awards season contenders for their movie comebacks in 2022.
"He put his hand on my shoulder and he said this, he was still here," Quan told reporters of his reunion with Fraser. "I will never forget those three words and it's actually right."
RELATED: Brendan Fraser Wins at Critics Choice Awards 2023: 'I Was in the Wilderness' Before The Whale
"For me, I cannot believe I'm still here," Quan added, in reference to how much time has passed since Encino Man. "It's been a wild ride ever since that movie came out."
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Quan and Fraser's careers intersected when they made Encino Man. Fraser's starring role in the film as an unfrozen primitive human man dropped into the 1990s helped kickstart his acting career, while the movie proved one of Quan's last appearances in front of the camera before he re-emerged in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
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Even after Quan won another trophy at the 80th Golden Globe Awards last Tuesday, the actor admitted to reporters that he was "so, so nervous" as he arrived at the Critics Choice Awards Sunday.
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"My heart is still pounding," the actor said of the experience. "I just, every time I think about it, I think about those years that I was struggling. It's so complicated. I don't know, my mind, it's so blurry right now."
"I cannot believe I won this," Quan continued. "I cannot believe I won Golden Globes on Tuesday. It's incredible. I really am. I don't know what to say aside from saying I feel very lucky, and I feel very grateful. And I thank [Everything Everywhere co-directors] the Daniels so, so, so much."
RELATED: Critics Choice Awards 2023: See the Full List of Winners
As Quan accepted his award on Sunday, he noted that his "comeback story could have been very different were it not for the critics."
"You've not only helped audiences find our little movie but you've helped audiences remember who I am," the actor said of Everything Everywhere. "For that I am so grateful to you."
