by It’s not easy being a child star in Hollywood, but in 2022, Ke Huy Quan made a big return and is making a name for himself again — some 39 years after he started.
Quan has come a long way from being Steven Spielberg’s golden boy, starring in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, but he hasn’t always been hot property. The actor left Hollywood for 20 years because he felt there weren’t enough roles for Asian actors.
After fading from the limelight and triumphantly returning with Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan is on an upward trend thanks to his Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor.
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From childhood star to Oscar-winning beau, here’s Ke Huy Quan’s surprise return and why fans can’t get enough of him explained in 12 points.
From Vietnam to the USA. Born in Vietnam in 1971, Ke Huy Quan fled the country in 1978 and ended up in a refugee camp in Hong Kong with his father and five of his siblings. He was reunited with his mother and other siblings when they all emigrated to the United States in 1979.
A breakout role. Quan’s first role is one of his most famous, opposite Harrison Ford in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He was just 12 at the time, and the casting took place at the same school his brother attended.
Next Steps. He continued his child star success by playing inventor Richard “Data” Wang in Richard Donner’s The Goonies, which also starred such household names as Josh Brolin and Corey Feldman. Quan is still friends with co-star Jeff Cohen (Chunk), who is now his entertainment attorney.
Get behind the camera. Quan has struggled to find work following his initial success and admitted to The Guardian that he had quit acting for almost 20 years due to a lack of roles for Asian actors. Instead, he turned to choreography, helping with films like “X-Men” and “The One.”
Back in business. It was 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians that persuaded Quan to return to acting, and the star told People, “I had serious FOMO… I wanted to be up there with my fellow Asian actors!” Ironically, the movie co-starred Everything Everywhere Michelle yeoh
An Oscar-worthy comeback. Everything Everywhere All At Once has grossed over $100 million and is A24’s highest-grossing film to date. It has 11 Oscar nominations as the most nominated film of the 95th Academy Awards.
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Quan himself has won over 50 awards for his portrayal of Waymond Wang.
filming in secret. Despite getting the first role he auditioned for after his comeback, Quan told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he kept Everything Everywhere All At Once a secret from his family: “I shot the entire movie without it that they knew.” He feared he might be fired from the film.
Right place, right time. Quan played three versions of Waymond in the multiversal film and admitted to people he felt he couldn’t have played the role 15 years ago, “Looking back on my life, all the ups and downs, I have Reached deep into me to pour my entire life into these three different characters.”
The Golden Globes. At the 2022 Golden Globes, Quan thanked Everything Everywhere directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “remembering” this little boy from Temple of Doom. With his landmark win, he became the first Vietnam-born actor to win in the Supporting Actor category.
Entry into the MCU. Quan plays a mysterious character in season 2 of Loki and joins Owen Wilson, Tom Hiddleston and Sophia di Martino. Quay said Hiddleston was thrilled to be working with Short Round and also confirmed to Josh Horowitz that Kevin Feige personally called to invite him to the MCU.
The Goonies 2. He always envisioned The Goonies 2 would be his career comeback and said there had been numerous scripts but nothing could surpass the original. He said that while he’s open to Data returning, the loss of director Richard Donner makes it less likely.
Play a short round again. There’s no word on if Quan will return as the short round for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but he recently posed with Ford at D23. The star also said he enjoyed being a sidekick to Dr. Jones would return if Disney wanted him back for a Short Round spin-off series.
