Ke Huy Quan: from 'Temple of Doom' to Oscar winner

Romain Fonsegrives/ with Susan Stumme in Washington, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Vietnamese American actor Jonathan Ke Quan (Ke Huy Quan), starring in" Indiana="" Jones="" and="" the="" Temple="" of="" poses="" on="" September="" during="" American="" Film="" Festival="" Deauville.="" MYCHELE="" DANIAU="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/03/13/jonathan.jpg"/><figcaption>Vietnamese American actor Jonathan Ke Quan (Ke Huy Quan), starring in&quot; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom&quot; film, poses on September 07, 1984 during the 10th American Film Festival of Deauville.<em> MYCHELE DANIAU / AFP</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Hollywood, United States - It is a comeback story so improbable, it could only happen in Hollywood.</p><p>At age 12, Ke Huy Quan went to a casting call with his brother, who was auditioning for the role of Short Round in &quot;Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.&quot; Quan himself was chosen to star in the 1984 blockbuster sequel alongside Harrison Ford.</p><p>The following year, he again struck big screen gold in the action adventure classic &quot;The Goonies.&quot; And then the casting calls dried up and -- unable to capitalize on his childhood fame -- he built a career behind the cameras as a stunt coordinator.</p><p>Cut to Sunday, when the 51-year-old Quan came full circle, winning an Oscar for playing Waymond Wang, the downtrodden husband of a Chinese American laundromat owner swept into an infinity of multiverses in &quot;Everything Everywhere All at Once.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Dreams are something you have to believe in. I almost gave up on mine,&quot; Quan told the audience through tears of joy.</p><p>&quot;To all of you out there, please keep your dreams alive.&quot;</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">WINNING MOMENT.<br/><br/>Ke Huy Quan bags the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oscar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oscar</a> for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film &quot;Everything Everywhere All At Once.&quot;<br/><br/>(📷: Etienne Laurent, EPA-EFE) <a href="https://t.co/FRQyTp0j4S">pic.twitter.com/FRQyTp0j4S</a></p>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1635078157467279360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2023</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Quan was the odds-on favorite for best supporting actor over his fellow nominees -- Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan (&quot;The Banshees of Inisherin&quot;), Brian Tyree Henry (&quot;Causeway&quot;) and Judd Hirsch (&quot;The Fabelmans&quot;) -- after an awards season sweep.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Congratulations to Ke Huy Quan on winning Best Supporting Actor! <a href="https://twitter.com/allatoncemovie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@allatoncemovie</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oscars95?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oscars95</a> <a href="https://t.co/VEI3I0bZDh">pic.twitter.com/VEI3I0bZDh</a></p>— The Academy (@TheAcademy) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAcademy/status/1635075956208697344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2023</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPDATE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UPDATE</a> Ke Huy Quan: from &quot;Temple of Doom&quot; to Oscar winner <a href="https://t.co/6yxao0Wyau">https://t.co/6yxao0Wyau</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/Romanuevo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Romanuevo</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oscars95?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oscars95</a> <a href="https://t.co/CfcIj5u9on">pic.twitter.com/CfcIj5u9on</a></p>— AFP News Agency (@AFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1635084611834515456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2023</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>He won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Critics Choice award and a Screen Actors Guild statuette, among other industry prizes.</p><p>His triumph is a watershed moment for Asian actors who feel they are finally seeing progress in on-screen representation.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/05/23/everything-everywhere-sweeps-spirit-awards-ahead-of-oscars">&#x27;Everything Everywhere&#x27; dominates Spirit Awards week before Oscars</a></li></ul><p>&quot;When I stepped away from acting, it was because there were so few opportunities,&quot; he said two weeks ago in an emotional acceptance speech at the SAG Awards.</p><p>&quot;The landscape looks so different now than before.&quot;</p><p>Indeed, &quot;Everything Everywhere All at Once&quot; primarily features a cast of Asian descent -- fellow Oscar nominees Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu star in the film, alongside Harry Shum Jr. and veteran character actor James Hong. English, Cantonese and Mandarin are spoken.</p><p>The film tells the story of Evelyn (Yeoh) and Waymond (Quan), who are undergoing a tax audit and moving towards divorce when they are swept into an epic multiverse battle to save humanity from a powerful villain -- who is also their daughter (Hsu).</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/12/23/everything-everywhere-enters-oscars-as-unlikely-favorite">&#x27;Everything Everywhere&#x27; enters Oscars as unlikely favorite</a></li></ul><p>The genre-defying film, which features Yeoh and Quan in fight scenes, allows the characters a way to reassess their lives -- and decide what is important.</p><p>&quot;I was so famished for a role like this,&quot; Quan told The New York Times late last year.</p><p>The cast of the film, which has grossed more than $100 million worldwide, won the best ensemble award at the SAGs, the night&#x27;s top honor.</p><div><strong>Back in front of the camera </strong></div><p>Born in Vietnam to parents of ethnic Chinese descent, Quan came to the United States in the late 1970s after they fled their home country. </p><p>Fame came quickly in those early films, which both allowed Quan to work with industry legend Steven Spielberg.</p><p>&quot;He is the reason why I fell in love with acting,&quot; Quan wrote on Instagram after the pair reconnected at the Golden Globes.</p><p>But his acting career nevertheless stalled, with just a few television roles in his teenage years. </p><p>&quot;Hollywood didn&#x27;t write roles for Asian actors,&quot; he told the Times.</p><p>He graduated from the film school at the University of Southern California, and eventually worked as a stunt coordinator, notably choreographing fight scenes for the original &quot;X-Men&quot; film.</p><p>He also worked in Hong Kong for venerable director Wong Kar-Wai, including as assistant director of &quot;2046,&quot; a loose sequel to &quot;In The Mood for Love.&quot;</p><p>&quot;For many years, I lied to myself by saying that I didn&#x27;t like acting anymore to make it feel less painful,&quot; Quan told GQ.</p><p>That love of acting was rekindled after seeing &quot;Crazy Rich Asians&quot;. He told CBS News that he cried watching it three separate times in a theater because he &quot;wanted to be up there with them.&quot;</p><p>He auditioned for &quot;Everything Everywhere&quot; -- and didn&#x27;t hear he&#x27;d won the part for two months, as he tells the tale. </p><p>&quot;That phone call was one of the happiest phone calls I have ever gotten,&quot; he told CBS.</p><p>The rest is Hollywood history.</p><p>And he has remained tight with friends from his childhood -- &quot;Goonies&quot; co-star Jeff Cohen (&quot;Chunk&quot;) is now an entertainment lawyer and negotiated Quan&#x27;s contract for &quot;Everything Everywhere.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Every rejection, every disappointment has led you here to this moment. Don&#x27;t let anything distract you from it,&quot; Quan&#x27;s character Waymond tells Evelyn in the film -- a perfect example of art imitating life.</p><div><strong>bur-sst/st</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/flp1u1QG5ko?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

At age 12, Ke Huy Quan was riding high as Short Round in the 2nd Indiana Jones movie. Nearly 40 years later, he is now an Oscar winner. 

Ke Huy Quan: from 'Temple of Doom' to Oscar winner | ABS-CBN

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Ke Huy Quan: from 'Temple of Doom' to Oscar winner

Ke Huy Quan: from 'Temple of Doom' to Oscar winner

Romain Fonsegrives/ with Susan Stumme in Washington,

Agence France-Presse

Published Mar 13, 2023 09:14 AM PHT

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