The 80s gave us action movies, science fiction masterpieces, and heroic adventures — and kids are the main characters in most of these films. This decade of cinema gave us classic characters like John Bender, Indiana Jones, and the alien E.T. What's more, it gave us iconic groups we begged our friends to emulate, like the misfits in The Breakfast Club, the Stand By Me kids, and The Goonies. One name attached to many of these projects is the iconic Ke Huy Quan (also known as Jonathan Ke Quan), portraying Data in The Goonies and Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Quan brought this lovely comedic nature to his characters, and kept up with Harrison Ford and the rest of the Goon Dock kids. He also has given us some of the most iconic lines such as, “I’m telling you, you listen to me more, you live longer!” and “That’s what I said, I said booby traps!”
After starring in two hits as his first-ever acting credits, Quan went on to act from 1987 to 2002, but then quit acting altogether. According to PEOPLE, Quan says he made the "very difficult decision" to quit because, at the time, there were very few parts for Asian actors. Indeed, it wasn't until after the box office success of Crazy Rich Asians that Quan decided to try his hand at acting again. He recently starred in the A24 smash hit Everything Everywhere All At Once, where he plays the heart-wrenching character of Waymond Wang, the sweet and compassionate father who literally and figuratively kicks butt. So, what was Quan doing in his 20-year hiatus from the screen? Well, he didn’t stray far from the industry. He spent 20 years doing everything you could think of behind the scenes. From foley to stunts, here is a look at Ke Huy Quan’s career in front of and behind the camera.
Assistant Director to Wong Kar-Wai
It's common for actors to dabble in directing. We've seen it countless times in Danny DeVito's Matilda, Jon Favreau's Iron Man, and Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird. There's no doubt some A-Listers now will go on to create some beautiful works of art. It makes sense in the film world; since actors work so closely with directors, they can pick up on things they would like to emulate if they were ever to try directing. Quan was on the crew for the 2004 movie 2046. He was the Second Unit Director / Assistant Director for acclaimed filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai. This film accumulated 81 nominations and 36 wins from a collection of many festivals, such as the European Film Awards for the Screen International Award and the International Cinephile Society Award for the Best Film Not in the English Language.
X-Men: Fight Choreography
After seeing Quan's fight scenes in Everything Everywhere All At Once, as he sports dad gym shoes and a fanny pack, this next film credit is understandable. At the time, though, Quan was simply doing a favor. After attending the University of Southern California and graduating with a film degree, Cory Yuen, famed martial artist and entertainer, asked Quan to come to Toronto to help him with a film he was doing the stunts for. Quan agreed and went to Canada.That movie was X-Men (2000) the first in the very successful franchise. Quan was later credited as the Assistant Fight Choreographer and a stunt rigger, which is defined as "applying gear and rigging skills from all rigging-related industries, combined to produce specific dramatic or acrobatics effects" by stuntrigging.org.
Assistant Editing on The Other Side
After adding stunt rigging, fight choreography, and assistant directing to his credits, Quan went on to be on the crew of The Other Side, a 2006 action thriller by Gregg Bishop. He was on the editorial team and was credited as an Additional Editor, aiding in the cutting of the film and helping Bishop with the editing. While this movie went on to get only one award nomination, it stars a young Jaimie Alexander (Thor, Blindspot) and also gave Quan his next credit.
Main Foley Artist
On the same film, The Other Side, Quan is credited as the main Foley Artist. The art of foley on a film is part of the sound department. It is similar to ADR, which is audio recorded after the scene is shot. Foley is the entirety of the background and atmospheric sounds tediously created in a sound room by a few people. It is the creation of the sound effects. Quan was the artist that created the sounds for the movie The Other Side. So, after acting, Quan went on to put his degree in film to work. He seems to have mastered the idea of being a jack of all trades, while showing that his acting skills have not faded over the years, starring in 2022's multiversal epic Everything Everywhere All At Once.