Comedy actor Patton Oswalt has been busy promoting his role in the upcoming blockbuster, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. While talking on Watch What Happens Live, Oswalt revealed how one of his roles kicked off an unlikely friendship. 

Oswalt gave his voice to Ratatouille, a film where he plays a rat with an eye for the culinary arts. After finding his way into a restaurant, he helps a hopeless chef impress everyone with new recipes and cooking skills. After the movie’s release, renowned chef Anthony Bourdain reached out to Oswalt, stating that he enjoyed the film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oswalt said, “He [Bourdain] was like, ‘They got kitchens and chefs right. It’s very, very accurate.”

Bourdain had even helped Oswalt pick out restaurants within Paris when he and his wife vacationed there, “He sent back this amazing paragraph that, like, a Beat poet would write, going, ‘Don’t do, just walk in anywhere, you gotta wander around, and let it happen.’” Oswalt later joked how that tactic may work for the chef, but Oswalt still has to face the problem of making reservations. He continued, saying, “But he meant well. Very passionate and from the heart.”

Ratatouille was directed by Pixar mainstay Brad Bird, and starred Lou Romano, Brad Garrett, and Ian Holm, alongside Oswalt. The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hits theaters on March 22nd, 2024.