Every Hollywood actor has to start somewhere, and for Everything Everywhere All at Once star Ke Huy Quan, his first break came when he played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It has been almost 40 years since, but the Vietnam-born American actor made it clear that the memory and gratitude that came with it were never forgotten.
“I was raised to never forget where I came from and to always remember who gave me my first opportunity. I’m so happy to see Steven Spielberg here tonight. Steven, thank you,” Quan said in his 2023 Golden Globes acceptance speech, after winning the Best Supporting Actor accolade for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. In response, Spielberg looked on from the audience and blew a kiss to the former child star.
Quan also took the chance to express gratitude for his recent career resurgence, with A24’s highly-acclaimed movie marking his first major role in an American flick in nearly four decades. “When I started my career as a child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I felt so lucky to have been chosen. 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; no matter what I did, I would never surpass what I achieved as a kid. Thankfully, more than 30 years later, two guys thought of me. They remembered that kid, and they gave me an opportunity to try again,” the 51-year-old shared.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is now A24’s first movie to have crossed US$100 million globally, and its impressive showing has opened more doors for Quan. The actor’s next big stint is a role in Loki Season 2, but there’s another idea that he’s more than keen to explore: a Short Round spinoff.
“I love the character of Short Round, he’s funny and courageous, and saves Indy’s ass,” he said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast about his Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom character. “If Disney or Lucasfilm ever come to me and say, ‘We want to do a Short Round spin-off,’ I’m there man! I love that character so much and it would just be incredible to revisit so many years later.”
When asked on what Short Round might be up after Temple of Doom, Quan responded, “I have no idea where he is. Your guess is as good as mine. Just because he looks after Indy so much, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was an archeologist.”
And wouldn’t that be a nice little send-off to the character’s last swansong in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny? In one life, Waymond (Quan’s character in Everything Everywhere All at Once) would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh); in another, Short Round would really have liked just finding treasures and danger with Indy.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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