It really seems like Ke Huy Quan is having the time of his life following his recent return to acting. A former child star who first rose to fame with his role as Short Round in the Steven Spielberg movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Quan's acting works had been scaled back significantly over the past two decades. However, that changed with last year's release of Everything Everywhere All at Once, which put him into the key role of Waymond Wang, the husband of protagonist Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh).
Quan's performance in the film has been met with widespread praise, and he has been winning one award after another as a result. This week, the actor won his first Golden Globe Award, picking up the win for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. In a new interview with Variety, he shared what it was like to attend that ceremony, admitting to feeling starstruck by some of the other guests. As he said about seeing one particular A-lister:
"I ran up to Brad Pitt, because I'm a huge fan of his. I just said, I told him, 'I love you! I love you, I've seen your movies!' And he recognized me, he knew who I was. So, that was pretty incredible."
Quan also revealed the moment that seems to have left him most touched. He recalls wrapping up his speech and noticing upon looking in the crowd that Spielberg had taken to his feet to give him a standing ovation. Despite their history, it was surreal for Quan to see, acknowledging that one of cinema history's all-time greats was there giving him praise.
"One thing that they didn't see on the telecast, because, you know, I love Steven Spielberg. I love this man with all my heart. And after I gave my speech on the stage, I looked over to him, and he gave me a standing ovation. Can you believe it? I could not believe it. Here is the most successful director of all time. Gave me a standing ovation. And he gave me a lot. Gave me my first job. He's the reason why I fell in love with acting."
Ke Huy Quan Has Garnered Great Praise For Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once is A24's highest-grossing movie. It is written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, following a Chinese-American immigrant (Michelle Yeoh) who must team up with alternate versions of herself from the multiverse to take down a powerful foe. Quan co-stars as her husband with other cast members, including Stephanie Hsu, Jenny Slate, James Hong, Harry Shum Jr., and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Meanwhile, the success means we will see plenty of Ke Huy Quan for some time in other projects. He'll be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a role in the upcoming second season of Loki on Disney+. Quan will also reunite with Everything Everywhere All at Once co-star Michelle Yeoh for the upcoming Disney+ series American Born Chinese. The actor is also set to appear in a main role in the Russo Brothers' anticipated Netflix movie alongside Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, and Giancarlo Esposito.