Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan have both come full circle today after winning their respective Oscars for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.
But did you know the pair once featured in a film together back in the 90s?
Fraser, 54, scooped the Best Actor accolade for his role in The Whale, having previously spoken about the feeling of being ‘blacklisted’ from Hollywood after a successful career in the 1990s and 2000s.
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Similarly, Quan’s win marks something of a comeback to the industry after finding no one would hire him after shooting to fame as a youngster in the likes of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies.
“Thank you so much for welcoming me back,” Quan said poignantly as he accepted his Oscar, while Fraser thanked director Darren Aronofsky for throwing him a ‘creative lifeline’.
The actors both enjoyed huge levels of success in the 1990s and 2000s, with Fraser starring in box office hits like The Mummy and George of the Jungle.
Amazingly, their paths actually crossed in 1992, when they both featured in Sean Astin comedy Encino Man – a flick that was known as California Man across the pond in the UK, and a number of other countries.
The film followed two teenagers in Encino, Los Angeles, as they discover a caveman (Fraser) living in the back garden, frozen into a block of ice.
After they defrost him and bring him back to life, he has to get to grips with modern life – at one point meeting Quan’s character, Kim, who is a member of the local computer club.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, Quan recalled being reunited with Fraser after all this time.
He said: “We worked together on a movie called Encino Man in the 90s.
“We saw each other out there for the first time after all these years, we gave each other a hug and he said, ‘Ke, we’re still here'.”
Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel also brought up their previous shared work in his opening monologue, noting how there were 16 first time nominees among the acting awards.
"31 years ago in 1992, Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Huang were in Encino Man together,” Kimmel said.
“Two actors who were in Encino Man, are nominated for Oscars. What an incredible night it must be for the two of you.”
Indeed, Fraser and Quan were visibly emotional as they collected their awards, with the former saying in his speech that it was an ‘honour’ to be named alongside fellow nominees Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Paul Mescal and Bill Nighy.
Fraser went on: “I want to tell you that only whales can swim at the depths of the talent of Hong Chau.
“I started in this business 30 years ago… there was a facility that that I didn’t appreciate at the time until it stopped.”
Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, Oscars, Brendan Fraser
Jess Hardiman