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https://scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3206079/indiana-jones-child-star-ke-huy-quan-waited-nearly-40-years-everything-everywhere-role-put-him-back
Lifestyle/ Entertainment

Indiana Jones child star Ke Huy Quan waited nearly 40 years for Everything Everywhere role to put him back in spotlight

  • As a child in the 1980s, Quan played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Richard ‘Data’ Wang in The Goonies
  • Worked dried up in the ’90s, but Quan is back on screen in Everything Everywhere All at Once, a role that is already picking up awards
Harrison Ford and Ke Huy in a still from 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Photo: Paramount Pictures

The greatest comeback story of this awards season belongs to Ke Huy Quan.

The former child actor is back in the spotlight nearly 40 years after he shot to fame as Short Round in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Richard “Data” Wang in 1985’s The Goonies.

Now he’s an Oscars contender for his endearing turn in Everything Everywhere All at Once, playing a devoted, fanny-pack-wielding laundromat owner named Waymond.

Quan, 51, picked up a best supporting actor trophy for his performance at last week’s New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

After appearing in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class in the early ’90s, Quan struggled to get work. That changed when he auditioned for Everything Everywhere All at Once, which co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Ke Huy Quan as Richard ‘Data’ Wang in a still from The Goonies. Photo: Warner Bros
Ke Huy Quan as Richard ‘Data’ Wang in a still from The Goonies. Photo: Warner Bros

“I promised my wife I’m not going to cry tonight,” Quan said in his acceptance speech on Wednesday. “But I remember the day I got the call from my agent and he said that I got the role of Waymond. I remember screaming so loud and was overwhelmed with emotions.

“It was one of the happiest days of my life, because it was a role that I waited for for a long, long time.”

He went on to thank the film’s writer-director duo, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, for reminding him why he loves acting.

“As I was walking down the red carpet, a reporter asked me, ‘How does it feel?’” Quan said. “I couldn’t quite articulate how I was feeling, aside from saying, ‘It feels incredible.’ And I realised I couldn’t explain because it was a feeling I hadn’t had for a long, long time.

“In fact, it was more than 30 years. And it was the same feeling that I had when I was a kid, when I was a working actor.

“So I just wanted to give a huge shout out to Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and our producer, Jonathan Wang, for making me feel like a kid again.”

Harrison Ford and Quan reunited after 38 years. Photo: Instagram/@kehuyquan/@lucasfilm
Harrison Ford and Quan reunited after 38 years. Photo: Instagram/@kehuyquan/@lucasfilm

We’re now roughly a week away from the beginning of voting for Academy Award nominations, and Everything Everywhere is certain to get a number of Oscar nods on January 24 – if the Golden Globe Award nominations list is anything to go by.

Quan, Curtis, Yeoh, the Daniels and the film are all on it and Everything Everywhere stands a good chance of getting at least one award on January 10.

Curtis is likely to get a nod from the Academy Awards for her role as a nasty tax auditor in Everything Everywhere, and will probably be competing in the best supporting actress category with Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin).

From left: Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in a still from Everything Everywhere All at Once. Photo: Allyson Riggs/A24/TNS
From left: Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in a still from Everything Everywhere All at Once. Photo: Allyson Riggs/A24/TNS

Stephanie Hsu, who plays the frustrated daughter of Yeoh’s character in Everything Everywhere, also stands a chance of being nominated in this category.

Yeoh is hotly tipped for the best actress award, but competition will be tough, as two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (Tár) and four-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans) are certain to be included in the same category.

Kwan and Scheinert are set to be shortlisted for the best director Oscar and are likely to be up against Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans) and James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water). Meanwhile, Everything Everywhere is tipped to be among the front runners for best picture, alongside The Fabelmans, Top Gun: Maverick, The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, Avatar: The Way of Water and Tár.

Quan is almost certain to be nominated for best supporting actor and money is down that he will win, too, beating another strong contender, Irish actor Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin.

Additional reporting by the Los Angeles Times