Indiana Jones and The Goonies star Ke Huy Quan talks his return to acting after 20 YEARS

Ke Huy Quan spoke about his return to acting in an interview with People that was published on Saturday.

The 51-year-old performer, who starred in the recently-released feature Everything Everywhere All At Once, spoke about various aspects of his career in the entertainment industry during the sit-down with the media outlet.

The media figure pointed out that his career started when he accompanied his brother to an audition for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, on which he greatly enjoyed working.

Quan stated: ‘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.’ 

The performer also discussed how he grew close to both Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg while working on the project. 

‘They were so kind, and humble, and down to earth…I have such fond memories of working on it. We spent three weeks in Sri Lanka. We’d hang out by the pool. Harrison taught me how to swim,’ he said.

Quan noted that, although he was subsequently cast in the hit adventure film The Goonies, his success in the entertainment industry was short-lived.

He recalled of the period: ‘It was tough. I was waiting for the phone to ring, and it rarely did.’ 

The performer noted that he was eventually forced to make the ‘very difficult decision’ to leave acting behind, which upset him greatly.

Quan later attended film school at the University of Southern California and found success as an assistant director and stunt coordinator, although he always wished that he could begin acting again. 

He recalled: ‘I was happy working behind the camera but I had serious FOMO. I wanted to be up there with my fellow Asian actors!’ 

The performer later successfully auditioned for a role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, and noted that he was drawn to the project due to its relatability.

‘When I read the script I thought it was written for me because they are me. I understood every single one of them,’ he said.

He also noted that his role as Waymond Wang was deeply personal, stating: ‘Looking back upon my life, all the highs and lows, I reached deep within me to pour my entire life into these three different characters.’

Quan humorously recalled that he had to practice fighting with a fanny pack and expressed that his wife Echo became annoyed with the aftermath of his training sessions. 

‘I kept swinging it in my house, everywhere I went, and I was constantly breaking things. She wasn’t too happy about it,’ he said.

The performer also expressed that his Goonies castmate Jeff Cohen helped negotiate his contract to appear in the film. 

‘My producer told me a really funny story the other day. He said never in his life did he think that he would have to talk to Chunk to get Data to be in his movie,’ he said.