From Indiana Jones to the Oscars - How Child Actor Ke Huy Quan overcame Asian Stereotypes and Lived his Modern-Day Movie Dream
Some may recognize the face of the smiley and teary man on stage humbly accepting his Oscar.
From starring in 1984s Indiana Jones and 1985s The Goonies to his most recent film, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan was a child actor that after a hiatus from acting has recently been awarded best-supporting actor and received one of the most prestigious awards in entertainment.
The life of the young actor turned Oscar winner is nothing short of a fairytale, with hardships, ups, downs, and triumphs. One may think that this story is too hard to believe, even for a film, but Quan has proved to us all that you should never give up on your dreams.
As a child, Quan moved from Vietnam to Kong Kong as a refugee by boat and was separated from his family until 1979 when they later settled in the US together. He received an audition to play Short Round in Indiana Jones by mere accident when he was accompanying his brother. After giving the opportunity to play the quick-witted pocket rocket, he then received another major role in The Goonies playing Data just a year later. Although, after this stardom, Quan found it very hard to receive any roles which didn’t play on Asian stereotypes and described the roles as being ‘the butt of the joke’.
Quan explained how being Asian made it 100 times harder to make the transition from a child to adult actor, and after receiving 100s of scripts where this unfortunate stereotype loomed over each role, Quan would instead pack up acting and become a stunt coordinator and assistant director. Although, after being inspired by Crazy Rich Asians, Quan would reunite with his old Goonies co-star Jeff Cohen [playing Chunk] who had reinvented himself as an entertainment lawyer to get back into the acting scene.
Now, from refugee and separated from his family, Quan just starred in the acclaimed ‘Everything Everywhere all at Once’ winning an Oscar. As he accepts his award, he gives a heart-warmed thank you to his mother and even reunited with co-star Harrison Ford for a heartfelt full circle moment.
