Ethan Embry is known by many names to movie fans of a certain age. Some know him as Rusty Griswold, aka Nick Papagiorgio, from “Vegas Vacation.” Others know him as Preston, that “guy with hair who likes to wear t-shirts sometimes,” from “Can’t Hardly Wait.” But it was his turn as Mark “with a k,” the shoplifter-hating store clerk in the ’90s cult classic “Empire Records,” back when he was acting under the name Ethan Randall, that has left an indelible mark on a certain sect of pop culture.

Embry recently sat down with TheWrap at the 101 Coffee Shop in Hollywood to take a walk down memory lane in honor of the 20th anniversary of Rex Manning Day, the (sadly) fictional holiday celebrating the well-coiffed singer played by Maxwell Caulfield in “Empire Records.”

Embry reveals the reason why Rex Manning Day is celebrated on April 8, and the answer may surprise you. He also discusses Tobey Maguire‘s rumored cameo in the film, his crush on Liv Tyler (which continued on to another movie) and why Robin Thicke (not Alan) is the modern day Rex Manning.