Thomas Hoffmann
If it were a matter of defining the Oscar Awards 2023 in a headline, it could be written something like this: “The triumph of the outsiders.” The ceremony held this Sunday, March 12, left the coronation of two actors who, until not long ago, were on the fringes of the film industry: Brendan Fraser y Ke Huy Quan. Also, Michelle Yeoh also joined the distinguished list of winners. But the statuette is not the only thing these performers now share.
When you look back over their film career, you discover that both Michelle Yeoh and Ke Hyt Quan worked together at one point with Brendan Fraser. Their history, by that time, had nothing to do with the last few months that these actors have experienced, surrounded by flattery, press space and other types of media.
All three share, in their own way, the experience of knowing how complex the film industry can be. Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan, for not finding more opportunities during their careers. For her part, Michelle Yeoh has an old project in common with Fraser. If you travel back in time and ask these actors how they imagined their future, perhaps none of them would have come close to describing the present.
The film in common
between Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan
How likely is it that, more than thirty years ago, Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan were sharing a scene? It happened. Yes. It was in California Manreleased in 1992 with the English title of Encino Man. Dave Blass, a production designer who has worked on various projects, was the one who recalled the reference via Twitter:
Imagine if you could go back in time and tell these two guys from “Encino Man” that they are both going to win an Oscar on the same night for movies they do in 30 years. pic.twitter.com/XZUve70ATv– Dave Blass (@DaveBlass). March 13, 2023
California Man was the second film in Brendan Fraser’s career. In the case of Ke Huy Quan, it was the fourth production in which he participated. Prior to that film, Ke Huy Quan was in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), The Goonies (1991) y Breathing Fire (1991).
While Fraser was able to continue playing different characters throughout the 1990s, until he positioned himself as a recognizable figure within the industry at the time, Ke Huy Quan had to wait a long time to return to acting.after California Man. It was a total of ten years, until his return in Second Time Around (2002).
Although the acting breaks are more marked in Ke Huy Quan’s case, the last decade has not been easy for Brendan Fraser. His volume of productions decreased markedly. Fraser came to think and feel that he had been left out of the industry, while his personal life was falling apart. So it is no coincidence that, in this time of accolades, he refers to his case as “a renaissance.”
In addition to having shared a project, and a personal quest to try to belong in that acting industry, Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan now share the fact that they have won at the 2023 Oscar Awards for. The Whale y All at once everywhererespectively.
The past in common with Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh was another star of the evening. She was recognized in the “Best Actress” category for her role in All at once everywhere. It is likely that, to the wider audience, her face is more familiar than those of Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan. It so happens that, for the past few years, Yeoh has been part of commercially powerful franchises.
Two of the most recent are the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the saga Avatar. In the first franchise, he debuted in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and then in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. (2021). In the second, he was part of Avatar: The Sense of Water (2022) and is expected to appear in subsequent installments.
But long before this, in 2008, she shared the screen with Brendan Fraser in. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.. That film saga was not as successful as the first one. However, both actors, some time later, may be able to talk about it calmly and wearing their Oscar Awards 2023.