{"id":43171,"date":"2023-03-13T17:12:16","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T17:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/03\/13\/ke-huy-quan-from-forgotten-child-star-of-indiana-jones-and-the-goonies-to-oscars-hero\/"},"modified":"2023-03-13T17:12:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T17:12:16","slug":"ke-huy-quan-from-forgotten-child-star-of-indiana-jones-and-the-goonies-to-oscars-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/03\/13\/ke-huy-quan-from-forgotten-child-star-of-indiana-jones-and-the-goonies-to-oscars-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"Ke Huy Quan: From forgotten child star of Indiana Jones and The Goonies to Oscars hero"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ke Huy Quan was a child star in two of the biggest movies of the 1980s, but gave up on acting when Hollywood gave up on him. Now he has made a remarkable comeback by winning an Oscar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say stories like this only happen in the movies,\u201d a tearful Quan told the Oscars as he accepted his award for best-supporting actor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot believe it\u2019s happening to me. This is the American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

His is a story that would be hard to believe if it was the plot of a film.<\/p>\n

\"Ke
Quan starred with Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a child, Quan moved from Vietnam to Hong Kong as a refugee, then settled in the US.<\/p>\n

He got an audition by accident to play Chinese pickpocket Short Round in 1984\u2019s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, then starred as gadget-loving Data in The Goonies the following year.<\/p>\n

But as he grew up, the roles dried up, and he settled for working behind the scenes as a stunt co-ordinator and assistant director.<\/p>\n

\"Ke
The Goonies is still regarded as a children\u2019s classic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inspired by watching Crazy Rich Asians, he decided to have another go at pursuing his dream of acting as he approached the age of 50.<\/p>\n

An agent friend agreed to represent him \u2013 and two weeks later Quan received a call about Everything Everywhere All at Once. That film would provide him with his second big break and his first Academy Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom is 84 years old and she is at home watching. Ma, I just won an Oscar!\u201d he said, overcome by emotion, kissing his golden statuette and holding it aloft.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp and somehow I ended up here on Hollywood\u2019s biggest stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ke<\/figure>\n

Quan was seven when he left Vietnam on a cramped boat in the late 1970s, landing in Hong Kong with his father while his mother and three siblings went to Malaysia.<\/p>\n

The family were reunited when they emigrated to the US in 1979, a move he has said was \u201ctraumatic\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were refugees,\u201d\u00a0Quan told the Guardian\u00a0last year. \u201cNobody wanted us\u2026 They would call us \u2018fresh off the boat\u2019. They would make fun of us when we were in school. You can imagine what that does to the mental state of a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

His life was to change when he went to support his younger brother at an audition for Indiana Jones at the age of 12. Quan didn\u2019t intend to audition, but the casting director suggested\u00a0he try out too<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Ke
Steven Spielberg and Ke Huy Quan in 1985<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ke
And reuniting with the director and his wife Kate Capshaw at the Oscars<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three weeks later, Quan was on his way to Sri Lanka to start shooting the film. \u201cIt was one of the happiest times of my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Some of the movie\u2019s depictions and themes have since been criticised, but Quan believes director Steven Spielberg deserves credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpielberg was the first person to put an Asian face in a Hollywood blockbuster,\u201d he said. \u201cShort Round is funny, he\u2019s courageous, he saves Indy\u2019s ass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then in The Goonies, which was executive produced by Spielberg, Quan was cast alongside fellow young stars like Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman and Martha Plimpton.<\/p>\n

\"Ke
Quan and Drew Barrymore at the Youth in Film Awards in 1984<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He went on to appear in the TV sitcoms Together We Stand and Head of the Class. But as the 90s wore on, the offers began to dwindle. Any roles sent his way were small and stereotyped.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always difficult to make the transition from a child actor to an adult actor,\u201d\u00a0he told the Telegraph. \u201cBut when you\u2019re Asian, then it\u2019s 100 times more difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were to take 100 scripts, there was a high probability that none of them would feature any meaningful Asian characters. A lot of the time, we were the butt of the joke.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour early 20s are supposed to be golden years and all I did was wait for the phone to ring.\u201d<\/p>\n

He reluctantly stopped waiting, and it was not until the success of Crazy Rich Asians in 2018 that he decided to try to get back on screen.<\/p>\n

Fear of missing out<\/h2>\n

\u201cI remember watching that movie in a theatre three times. I cried every single time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cried because it was such a beautiful movie, but I also cried for a different reason \u2013 I had serious FOMO [fear of missing out]. I wanted to be up there along with my fellow Asian actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really then that the idea of getting back to my roots started taking place.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he received the script for Everything Everywhere All at Once, he probably didn\u2019t expect it to take him all the way to the Oscars.<\/p>\n

On paper, the film is a tough sell. It is an inventive cross between an indie drama about an immigrant family, a zany sci-fi adventure and a superhero action film.<\/p>\n

Quan plays Waymond Wang, the husband of Michelle Yeoh\u2019s launderette manager \u2013 as well as multiple versions of Waymond from alternative universes.<\/p>\n

\"Ke
Waymond Wang is an unremarkable husband and action hero<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He has said he was unsure how viewers would react to seeing a former child star as a middle-aged man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 50 years old when I decided to get back into acting,\u201d\u00a0he told the Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took courage to give voice to this dream I\u2019d had, a dream I had to walk away from, and I didn\u2019t think it would find its way back.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a neat twist of fate, it was one of his old co-stars who helped him secure his comeback role.<\/p>\n

Jeff Cohen, who played Chunk in The Goonies, had reinvented himself as an entertainment lawyer and helped Quan negotiate his contract. The film\u2019s producer said \u201che never imagined that he\u2019d have to talk to Chunk and Data for his movie\u201d.<\/p>\n

Keep your dreams alive<\/h2>\n

Both Quan and his film have now won over Hollywood.<\/p>\n

Everything Everywhere scooped seven Oscars in total on Sunday, including best picture and best actress for Yeoh.<\/p>\n

Quan has been one of the most popular figures on the awards circuit this year, with his irrepressible enthusiasm and stream of smiling selfies alongside A-list stars \u2013 who seemed just as happy to meet him.<\/p>\n

\"Ke
Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones himself, gave Quan and co their Oscar for best picture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the Oscars, there was a touching reunion with his former Indiana Jones co-star Harrison Ford, who presented the best picture award.<\/p>\n

In his speech, Quan went on to thank his mother \u201cfor the sacrifices she made to get me here\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also thanked his brother and wife \u2013 \u201cthe love of my life, who month after month, year after year for 20 years, told me my time would come\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cDreams are something you have to believe in. I almost gave up on mine.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo all of you out there, please keep your dreams alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you so much for welcoming me back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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