Watch Sonic The Hedgehog's Ben Schwartz Make The Day Of Superfan And Minari Star Alan Kim

Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog
(Image credit: (Paramount))

Happy awards season, everyone! It’s the time of the year when Hollywood and moviegoers reflect on the best movies and performances within the past year. As we head into the Golden Globes this Sunday, Minari’s breakout actor, 8-year-old Alan Kim, showed some love for an actor who is quick on his feet, often plays blue and just starred alongside two-time Golden Globe-winner Jim Carrey in last year’s blockbuster hit, Sonic the Hedgehog. Yes, Sonic!

When the young Minari actor was recently interviewed for W Magazine, he named ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ his favorite actor, which is obviously adorable. Following the sentiments, the (whispers) real actor behind the voice of the character, Ben Schwartz, sent Alan Kim a surprise message. Check it out:

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Well, isn’t that just the best? The studio behind Minari, A24, shared the video of the 8-year-old as he listened to Ben Schwartz as Sonic, addressed a message to him saying “hi” and getting all excited to hear he’s his favorite actor. Sonic hasn’t quite seen Minari yet, but he is off to take down Robotnik again, as he often does. Kim didn’t say anything in the video, but he gives a sweet smile and nod following the video. You can just tell that made his day, and his parents definitely got a kick out of it too.

The original interview was published just the other day, but a proud A24 shared the section of the interview all over social media, and it caught the attention of Ben Schwartz. The actor, also known as Jean Ralphio in Parks and Recreation and can now be seen in Disney+’s Flora & Ulysses, replied to the message sharing that Sonic “would love” to send him a voice note, and low and behold!

Ben Schwartz just saw the video too. He shared this to Twitter:

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There you go, kids. Sometimes Twitter can be harnessed for good. It’s not a pairing we would expect to make our day, but now that it’s happened, it’s so gosh darn cute. Minari is Alan Kim’s first movie, but since the movie has received high praise, including being nominated for a Golden Globe, he’s getting a bit of the Hollywood experience. In any other year, he’d be rubbing elbows with other actors in real time, but Schwartz’s Sonic message makes it sweet and special.

Alan Kim would also be happy to hear that a second Sonic the Hedgehog movie is officially coming in 2022. Ben Schwartz recently said the movie will begin filming in the next few months, and let's also not forget about the forthcoming animated Netflix series. For now, check out the Korean-American family film Minari in select theaters or on VOD rental ahead of the Golden Globes this Sunday.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.