Meet Ke Huy Quan from Everything Everywhere All at Once: after Indiana Jones and The Goonies, he quit acting for 20 years – here’s why Crazy Rich Asians inspired his return
- The 50-year-old actor starred in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, meeting Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Drew Barrymore
- He worked behind-the-scenes on Wong Kar-wai’s 2046 and with Cory Yuen on X-Men, and recently acted in A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once with Michelle Yeoh
Yet by the late 90s, he had all but disappeared from Hollywood. He would only resurface 20 years later, delivering a heartwarming performance as Waymond Wang in A24’s critically acclaimed Everything Everywhere All at Once.
From why he gave up acting to why he decided to return, here’s what to know about the 50-year-old actor.
He didn’t have an easy childhood
Quan was born in Saigon during the Vietnam war. After the fall of Saigon, young Quan and his family fled the country, splitting up in the process. In an interview with Vulture, he recalled how he lived in a Hong Kong refugee camp for a year with his father and five siblings before finally reuniting with the rest of the family in the United States by the time he turned eight years old.
He nabbed his iconic role in Indiana Jones by chance
Quan didn’t know who Harrison Ford was when he auditioned for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In fact, he didn’t even know he was interested in acting. But he was seemingly destined to play the role of Short Round.
The casting director had announced an open casting call, and when Quan’s brother went to audition, he tagged along. After seeing Quan help his brother with his lines, the casting director invited him to give it a shot too.
“Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would end up being an actor. But I fell in love with it. That movie changed my life and my entire family’s life,” he told People.
It broke his heart to quit acting
