Trivia / Encino Man

• Blooper: The scene where Link is driving and Dave is stuck on the window, in one brief shot you can clearly see Dave's Stunt Double.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Pauly Shore originally auditioned for Link, but after the producers met Brendan Fraser, they cast him instead. However, they liked Shore so much that they wrote an entirely new character for him to just keep him on the project.
• Colbert Bump: This movie experienced an uptick of attention in late 2022/early 2023 as a result of the awards attention Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan received for, respectively, The Whale and Everything Everywhere All at Once. That both actors appeared in this movie, had long, hard roads to get to that kind of critical acclaim, and have been openly overjoyed at each other's success has been a special kind of heartwarming.
• Dawson Casting: Dave, who's supposed to be around 17 years old, was played by then 20 year old Sean Astin.
  • Same with Stoney, portrayed by 24 year old Pauly Shore.
  • Megan Ward was 21 when she played high school senior Robyn.
• Harpo Does Something Funny: The character of Stoney wasn't in the script. Rather, Pauly Shore was more or less dropped into every scene where the character appears and allowed to ad lib.
• One for the Money; One for the Art: Sean Astin, who was looking to give up acting and take on directing, accepted the role of Dave to fund a short film he wanted to direct.
• On-Set Injury: While filming the part where he catches the old bowl in the air, Sean Astin ended up slipping and getting a large cut into his forehead. It thankfully ended up being a minor injury, but in some scenes you can still make out a tiny scar where his cut was (right above his left eye).
• What Could Have Been: Nicolas Cage, Ben Stiller and Jim Carrey were considered for Link.
  • Keith Coogan auditioned for Stoney.

---