Andrew Eccles for Diversity
Ke Huy Quan was on a mission. He’d just won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Waymond Wang, the goofy husband of a laundromat in All At Once, and he wanted to share the moment with Steven Spielberg. As you can see, Spielberg was the filmmaker who cast him for his prominent role in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when Quan was 12 years old.
During a commercial break in the Academy Awards, 51-year-old Quan walked over to Spielberg, who was sitting with his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, who Quan hadn’t seen since they starred in Temple of Doom four decades earlier. After hugs all around, Spielberg put his hands on Quan’s shoulders and said, “You’re an Oscar-winning actor now.”
The depth of that statement escaped none of them, as Quan’s Oscar win capped off one of the most unlikely comeback stories in Hollywood history. For decades he had been relegated to the fringes of the film business with no career – and no health insurance.
But we overtake each other.
It’s been less than 24 hours since Quan leaped up the steps of the Dolby Theater stage and told the story of an immigrant from Vietnam – the seventh of nine children – who, after much hard work, had achieved the “American Dream”. And this morning, despite a marathon night of celebration, his happy energy is contagious.
Still, there’s a subtle hesitation in Quan’s voice. He worries that he will have to wake up from this dream to find his resurrection has evaporated. “I had a conversation with my agent,” he says. “I’m so worried that this is just a one-time thing.”
Andrew Eccles for Diversity
Like many immigrants, Quan’s parents wanted him to be a doctor or a lawyer—anything that would ensure economic stability. Instead, fate intervened when his younger brother entered an open casting call to play Indiana Jones’ sidekick, Short Round. But something about Quan, at 12, made the casting people think they’d found the perfect foil for cinema’s most famous archaeologist, and Quan, not his brother, got the part. The next summer he played Data, one of the misfits looking for treasure in Richard Donner’s The Goonies.
Then it was over. For 30 years, Quan suffered from countless failed auditions. He later attended USC Film School and took odd jobs, working as a fight choreographer on “X-Men” and developing projects for director Wong Kar Wai at his production company Jet Tone Films. There he met his wife, Echo, whom he considers the unsung heroine of his recent success. Every month for 20 years, Echo has said to her husband, “Trust me, your time will come.”
“Sometimes I was frustrated with her,” says Quan, breaking down in tears as he recalls their conversations. “I told her, ‘You keep saying that, and it’s never going to happen.’ I didn’t believe it. Twenty years is not a short time.”
There are never guarantees in Hollywood. But Quan is making the most of his role as awards-season darling. Three completed projects are on the catwalk: two television series, American Born Chinese and the second MCU season of Loki for Disney+, and the upcoming sci-fi movie The Electric State, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. To date, there are no further offers on the table.
But this morning is for celebration. Quan plans to visit his mother in LA to show her his statuette. Before he does, he sits down to talk about the journey that brought him to the Oscars.
How do you feel?
I’m still editing. I didn’t sleep much last night – I think it was only an hour. When I woke up I wondered for a minute or two if this was a dream. But I’ve been doing this a lot lately because so many things have happened in the past year and it feels surreal.
When you accepted your Oscar you talked about being a refugee and living in a camp. How did you end up in America?
I was a normal kid in Vietnam in 1978 and suddenly my parents decided to flee the country. I didn’t understand what was happening. All I knew was that I was separated from my mother, my little brother and a couple of my sisters. It was the middle of the night when my father, five of my siblings and I escaped in a boat. We came to Hong Kong and I was in a refugee camp surrounded by guards and police for a whole year until we were granted political asylum. Then I got on a plane and landed in Los Angeles for the first time. That was in 1979.
I didn’t have the maturity to process the sacrifices my parents made for a better future. And as fate would have it, four years later I got a job at Indiana Jones that changed my life. I always wanted to thank my parents for what they did, but I grew up in a family where we just don’t share those kinds of feelings. And last night I made it public. I wanted the world to know how much my parents meant to me. Our film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is also about this immigrant family. That’s why the story captivated me so much.
Andrew Eccles for Diversity
Not only did they win, but Jamie Lee Curtis won Best Supporting Actress and Michelle Yeoh made history by becoming the first Asian actress to win a Leading Actor Oscar.
Just before it happened I looked over at Michelle and knew she was very nervous. And we held hands: Jamie was closer to her, so Michelle held Jamie’s hand, Jamie held my hand, and I held Stephanie Hsu’s hand. We only hoped and prayed that her name would be called. And then history was made.
Does it make you hopeful for the future in terms of representing Asia?
Forget the time 30, 40 years ago – even 10 years ago. Look where we are now: the landscape looks so different. We take a seat at the table. Our voices are heard. Our faces are seen and it feels amazing.
There was a little Indiana Jones reunion on stage last night. Harrison Ford was the person who opened the envelope and announced that “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won Best Picture. How was it?
When he opened that envelope and read the title, it made our win for best picture even more special. And when I ran onto the stage, I pointed at him and he pointed back at me and I hugged him. I just couldn’t help it. I just want to shower this man with all my love. I gave Harrison Ford a big kiss on the cheek.
How was your first day on a film set?
I would hear Steven giving me directions and he would give me a high five every time I did something he liked.
Do you remember the first time you saw Temple of Doom?
We saw it at Mann’s Chinese Theater. That was the first time I saw myself on the big screen. Watching the film with the audience and hearing them laugh and applaud, it was such a great feeling. I wanted to repeat it over and over again.
You’ve done two films in a row with Steven Spielberg – Temple of Doom and The Goonies. Did you think you’d reprise your role in The Last Crusade?
I was secretly hoping. But honestly, Steven has given me so much – not one film, but two films. And they were the first to put an Asian face in a major Hollywood film.
Andrew Eccles for Diversity
After those films, you struggled to find roles. What happened?
I was taught not to blame anyone. If something isn’t going the way you want it to, it’s either because you haven’t worked hard enough, weren’t good enough, or didn’t try hard enough. So when I didn’t get a job, I blamed myself: I thought I wasn’t tall enough, I wasn’t good enough looking or I wasn’t a good actor because I didn’t have a classical education. I have never blamed anyone – until today.
We’re talking about Asian representation, but I don’t like looking to the past and saying, ‘Oh my god, how bad was that!’ I prefer to focus on the present and move forward. A lot has changed.
How is your relationship with your parents?
My father died in 2001 but I had a great relationship with both of my parents. I was a little kid and I had all these amazing opportunities with Indiana Jones and Goonies; I could see the joy and pride of my parents. And then when those opportunities dried up, I could see that they wanted something different for me because they sensed that I wasn’t happy. My mother is a very superstitious person, so she told me to go to fortune tellers. They were Buddhists, so I saw my mother praying to Buddha to give me a career. That’s why it was so painful for me – because there was nothing I could do to get someone to put me in a movie or create a big role for me. And that’s one of the things I hated about our business.
This is a big comeback for you, but you don’t have any projects lined up. Worried that despite the success of All At Once, you won’t be cast again?
I was at an event recently and sat next to Cate Blanchett. I told her I don’t know what I’m going to do next, but I feel an obligation to do something good and I don’t want to disappoint everyone who has supported me. And she said: “Just go with your heart and be irresponsible: don’t worry about what other people think. Choose something you believe in, choose something you love and things will work out.”
Location: Mandarin Oriental Residences, Beverly Hills; Grooming: Anissa Salazar; Chloe Takayanagi/The Wall Group; Bespoke Giorgio Armani; Brooch: Fred Leighton; cufflinks David Yurman; Watch: Omega; Glasses Oliver Peoples