Ke Huy Quan’s Emotional Journey Leads to Golden Globes Win The New

Ke Huy Quan: A Journey Of Resilience And Recognition In Hollywood

Ke Huy Quan’s Emotional Journey Leads to Golden Globes Win The New

Ke Huy Quan has been cleaning house on the awards circuit for his celebrated performance as Waymond in Everything Everywhere All at Once and is widely considered the frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor this weekend. This remarkable resurgence in his career is a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of representation in the entertainment industry.

As he enjoys his victory lap, Quan says he has been approached by many Asian actors who have thanked him for his iconic child actor performances in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and The Goonies (1985). They’ve said his example helped inspire them to pursue careers in Hollywood. This acknowledgment showcases the impact he has had on a generation of Asian actors seeking their place in a predominantly white industry.

At 51, Quan reflects on his journey with gratitude. He believes he’s the one who should be thanking them. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities for Asian performers, Quan abandoned acting more than two decades ago. He was lured back due to positive changes in Asian representation in movies and television in recent years, especially in the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians.

Leaving Acting Behind

The Vietnam-born Quan portrayed beloved characters as Indiana Jones’ sidekick Short Round and the precocious Data in The Goonies. However, his Hollywood fortunes quickly changed. Despite an early role in the sitcom Head of the Class and a small role in the film Encino Man (1992), Quan found that job opportunities were no longer forthcoming.

“When I started my career as a child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I felt so very lucky to have been chosen,” Quan said during his recent Golden Globe acceptance speech. “As I grew older, I started to wonder if that was it, if that was just luck. For so many years, I was afraid I had nothing more to offer.” This fear of obsolescence drove him away from acting.

He spent much of his teens and early 20s “just waiting for the phone to ring,” and the roles that did come along were often small parts with Asian stereotypes. Eventually, he felt he had no choice but to walk away from his dream of acting. Despite this setback, he stayed involved in filmmaking, studying film production at the University of Southern California’s film program and choreographing fight scenes for both Hong Kong action movies and Hollywood films like X-Men (2000) and Jet Li’s The One (2001).

Finding Inspiration in Crazy Rich Asians

Quan eventually became an assistant director for celebrated Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, working on the acclaimed film 2046 (2004). Content with this new direction in his career, Quan thought his acting days were long behind him. However, everything changed when he watched Crazy Rich Asians.

Directed by Jon M. Chu, Crazy Rich Asians starred Constance Wu as a college professor who travels to meet her boyfriend’s family and is surprised to learn they are one of the wealthiest families in Singapore. It was the first major Hollywood film since The Joy Luck Club (1993) to feature an all-Asian cast centered around a modern Asian American story. This film resonated strongly with Quan, who saw it three times in theaters and cried each time, realizing it represented the positive Asian representation that had been lacking during his early career.

“For a long time, I thought I was at peace with [retiring from acting], but something was missing,” Quan told GQ. “I saw my fellow Asian actors up on the screen, and I had serious FOMO because I wanted to be up there with them.” This sparked his desire to return to acting, demonstrating how powerful representation can be in reigniting one’s passion.

Reclaiming His Dream Career

A newly-inspired Quan reached out to an agent friend to see if he’d like to represent him. Just two weeks later, the very first script that they received was Everything Everywhere All at Once. Written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the surreal comedy-drama stars Michelle Yeoh as a Chinese immigrant named Evelyn Quan Wang, who discovers an ability to connect with versions of herself in parallel universes. Quan portrays her husband, Waymond, who teaches her how to harness this power.

“When I decided to get back to acting, I thought I would get little roles here and there,” Quan shared with Variety, “but never in my wildest imagination did I think that a script like this would be in front of me and provide an opportunity to audition for one of the greatest roles I’d ever read.” His performance has garnered wide praise, with Quan winning the Best Supporting Actor award from the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, making him the first Asian male to win a SAG award for acting.

Looking to the future, Quan plans to continue acting and is set to star in the TV series American Born Chinese, which will premiere on Disney+ this year, alongside his Everything Everywhere co-stars Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu. He hopes his successful comeback story will inspire other Asian actors to pursue their dreams as well, emphasizing, “I can’t imagine how many others like myself out there, young and old, who share in the same dream that lay dormant for many years.”

In closing, Quan expresses a heartfelt hope: “If you ask me what I hope our movie can do, I really hope Everything Everywhere All at Once does for these dreamers what Crazy Rich Asians did for me. That would make me really happy.” His journey is a powerful reminder of the importance of representation and resilience in the face of adversity.

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Ke Huy Quan’s Emotional Journey Leads to Golden Globes Win The New
Ke Huy Quan’s Emotional Journey Leads to Golden Globes Win The New
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'Everything Everywhere All at Once' star Ke Huy Quan gets Oscar
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