"Everything Everywhere All at Once" star Ke Huy Quan

[Music] in the car   you might remember the young sidekick in the  film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom his   acting career ended in his youth or so it seemed  Tracy Smith is talking with actor Ke Huy Quan you might have heard it said that Hollywood  is a place where dreams go to die but if   you really believe that maybe you  just haven't met the right Dreamer   Ke Huy Quan never looked for fame fame found  him born in Vietnam he'd come to this country   in 1979 and along with his parents and eight  siblings settled near downtown Los Angeles   38 years ago that would be one of that would  be me right there really screaming screaming   playing with the kids life in LA's Chinatown he  says was happy but unremarkable this is your old   elementary school yes Castela Elementary School  yes that is until the day in 1983 when Hollywood   Casting agents showed up here looking for a young  Asian boy to star in a Spielberg movie and the   funny thing is you didn't even really go to the  call it was your brother who went to auditions   yes he went to audition I tagged along and as he  was auditioning I was behind the camera giving   him directions coaching him what to do and the  casting director saw me and says Ke would would   you want to give this a try uh and I didn't  think much of it I said yeah sure why not ciao expensive hello ladies and so only four years  after coming to America Ke Huy Quan beat out 6   000 other kids for the role of Short Round [Music] he's crazy in 1984's Indiana Jones and the  Temple of Doom at age 12 he was suddenly a   star [Music] and a few months later when he was  cast in 1985's The Goonies young Ke thought he'd   made it in Hollywood and then the phone stopped  ringing what happened well I saw it at the very   top so there was no way to go but downhill  from there after Goonies he made a couple of   TV series and a few guest appearances but after  that nothing it was frustrating especially when   I walk into the room uh to audition for the  casting director and she recognizes me and   she says oh my gosh you know we love your work in  Indiana Jones we love you in The Goonies so then   you're thinking oh maybe I have I think exactly  and I'm thinking oh I can land this role but   then again a week will go by two weeks will go by  and then nothing what does that do to you inside it's not good for your confidence that's for  sure he remembers going up for a two-line   part as a Vietnamese Soldier and I walked in  the room and there was 30 other Asian actors   waiting to read for the same role I went an  audition uh went back and waited for the phone   to ring and it was that moment and I said maybe  uh this isn't for me uh dejected but determined   to stay in the business he loved he came here  to USC's School of cinematic arts and went on   to build a career working behind the scenes  as a stunt coordinator on films like X-Men but in 2018 his dream of working in front of  the camera got new life you ready for this   when he saw this crazy Rich Asians oh damn  Nick it's a party though okay I saw it three   times in the theater I cried every single time  but one of the reasons why I cried was because   I wanted to be up there with them and Incredibly  he was about to get a chance at a second act   a new film about an Asian family was in the works  and after a 25-year break from the casting World   Ke Huy Quan read for the male lead and he  nailed it I left call my agent and I said I   think I have a shot I think it went well I was  so excited I was like yeah yeah please please   let me know what they think okay two months went  by two months two months and as each day went my   My Hope of Landing the job slowly slowly  dissipated but it was my wife says ke you she said you will get this role I said how can  you be so sure and she said because you   said this role is written for you  and you wanted more than anything   you will get it she would say that to you she knew  and his wife Echo was right his agent finally did   call with good news and that phone call was one  of the happiest phone calls I have ever gotten and   I was screaming at the top of my lungs I said yes  yes and I kept jumping up and down I said yes yes and I didn't I didn't have  to say a thing she knew that   what that phone call was about she  knew ah yeah I remember that day well and now watching everything everywhere all at once it's as if Ke Huy Quan has poured 25 years  of pent-up emotion into his performance   and the world has taken note keep way quiet  these days if Ke Huy Quan looks like a man   whose fondest dream has finally come true well  that's because it has and now Oscar nominee never never never in my life did I think  that the word Oscar would be associated   with my name and I wasn't thinking  much none of this but Oscar nominated   come on I just went to the job just a job just  a job but now you know looking back I would not   change a thing it's so much sweeter now it's so  much sweeter so much sweeter now yeah and you know   I always believe in this you know a full life is  a life full of ups and downs you don't know what   sweet tastes like until you've taste you know  sour or bitterness and it's awfully sweet now   believe it Tracy I still can't believe it I don't  know how I got here I don't know how it happened   but I don't I don't think  I've ever been this happy

Channel: CBS Sunday Morning

Views: 596,286

Keywords: CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, news, ke huy quan, hollywood, everything everywhere all at once, tracy smith, oscar nomination

Id: nDdHyRMmKRI

Length: 7min 24sec (444 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 26 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/Amity75]

I met him at a comic con in Glasgow a few years ago. He's just the nicest guy ever and totally deserves his resurgence.

[u/CSWorldChamp]

This is about the cutest thing I’ve ever watched. I’m hopping around with him.

[u/MrAwesomeJr]

Does he mention Indy?

[u/MJustin80]

Cant wait to see him take home the Oscar. Well deserved.

[u/Mangatellers]

Such a nice guy. I don't believe that we will see him in DoD, but I hope we will see Short Round in an upcoming book or comic of Indy's adventure.

[u/GongBodhisattva]

Would have been great to see him paired up with Indiana Jones on another adventure. As an actor, he seems to have a lot of give to the role.

[u/dratelectasis]

Damn you Jonathan Brandis... You could have had your come back

[u/andthatwasenough]

It’s weird - I didn’t care for the movie he was in at all, but I also think he was the best part of it, so I’d be happy for him if he took home the Oscar. He seems like such a good, talented man. Glad to see him getting work again.

[u/ThriftyFalcon]

Please please show up at the end of this movie.