Hollywood is notorious for being fickle. It can create stars overnight and then discard them as quickly as it can move on to the next big thing. Once you’re gone, you’re usually forgotten, with no second chances at stardom or career redos.
Against all odds, we have two big comeback stories this awards season Ke Huy Quan and Brendan Fraser. With their first major film roles in decades, Everything Everywhere All At Once (Quan) and The Whale, they have both emerged as major award contenders for the first time in their careers (Fraser).
Their re-entry into Hollywood’s upper crust was confirmed this morning when both received their first Oscar nominations — Fraser for Lead Actor and Quan for Supporting Actor.
With Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, Quan was one of the biggest child stars of the 1980s; Fraser was one of the biggest action stars of the late 1990s and early 2000s with The Mummy franchise and George of the Jungle. (Adding to the duo’s luck, they appeared together in the 1992 comedy Encino Man, which gave Fraser his break.)
Then they both faded from view. Fraser and Quan have spoken about being welcomed back in their acceptance speeches, showing appreciation for the directors who gave them a chance, The Whale’s Darren Aronofsky and Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
“I was in the wilderness, and I probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs,” Fraser said at the Critics Choice Awards. Backstage, he said the award meant “more than I know how to express with words.”
During his Golden Globes speech, Quan discussed the years of self-doubt that followed his success as a child actor.
“As I got older, I began to wonder if that was all there was to it — if it was just luck,” he admitted. “For so many years, I was afraid I had nothing more to offer, that no matter what I did, I would never surpass what I’d accomplished as a child.
“Thankfully, two guys thought of me more than 30 years later,” he continued, referring to the Daniels. “They remembered that kid, and they gave me another chance. Everything that has occurred since has been incredible. Thank you so much, Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, for assisting me in finding my answer. You’ve given me more than I could have hoped for.”
Fraser and Quan were both nominated for Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards prior to their Oscar nominations. Both won at the Critics’ Choice Awards, and Quan also won at the Golden Globes, which Fraser boycotted due to an alleged sexual assault by former HFPA president Philip Berk, which Fraser previously revealed was a major reason for his departure from acting.
SAG Award wins would solidify Fraser and Quan’s status as Oscar frontrunners.
