The Asian American actor was forced off the screen by Hollywood’s lack of diversity in the 1990s, so his comeback is truly worth celebrating
You can be excused for not knowing Ke Huy Quan, who has been largely absent from screens for decades. The Vietnamese American actor won Best Supporting Actor at the 2023 Academy Awards and Golden Globes for his multidimensional, endearing and quietly powerful performance as Waymond Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). The film is emotional, fantastical and so unimaginably wacky it would not have been a surprise had it flopped; instead, it has become a runaway global success, garnering awards for its stars and production team, and becoming independent film production company A24’s highest grossing film to date.
A major reason for why Everything Everywhere All at Once has become an instant classic and cult favourite is its cast and their performances. Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis are veterans whose work is well known and loved by audiences, and Stephanie Hsu has also amassed a list of credits that includes the ongoing series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Quan has been largely absent from acting for decades, so his win is particularly exciting.
Here are five things we’ve learnt about the actor.
In case you missed it: From Everything Everywhere All at Once to Turning Red, all the Asian nominees at the 2023 Golden Globes
Our Golden Globe winner for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, Ke Huy Quan! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/Ed5Y86H9Tr
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 11, 2023
1. Steven Spielberg taught him to be comfortable with being himself
During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Quan shared how he was cast as Short Round opposite Harrison Ford in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
When Spielberg and George Lucas were “looking for an Asian kid” to star in the movie, Quan tagged along to the open call in Los Angeles with his younger brother who went to audition. As he was coaching his sibling, he caught the casting director’s eye and was asked if he would also like to audition. “The next day, I got a call from Steven Spielberg’s office” about going in for a meeting. Quan’s mother, thinking a meeting with a big director in Hollywood required a certain approach, dressed her 12-year-old son in a “three-piece suit with a little gold chain hanging out the side pocket... Steven came out, saw how uncomfortable I was, gave me the biggest hug and warmest smile and said, ‘I want you to come back the next day but wear something comfortable’. I went back the next day and in the room was Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford. We spent the whole afternoon together and three weeks later I was on a flight to Sri Lanka, and it was the best adventure of my life.”