Ke Huy Quan Always Wanted to Revisit This ’80s Character But Never Got the Chance
Fans of the 2022 existential romp, Everything Everywhere All at Once may wonder if they’ve seen the face of Waymond Wang before. In fact, they probably did. Actor Ke Huy Quan starred in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when he was a teenager.
Now 51, a Golden Globe winner, and an Oscar nominee, Quan says he always wanted to revisit one of his ’80s movies characters but never got the chance. Which role would he happily play again? Here’s what we know:
Movie-goers still recognize Ke Huy Quan 30 years later
Moviegoers got their first glimpse of Quan when his character, Short Round, tried to pick Indiana Jones‘ pocket at the Gung Ho bar in Shanghai. In lieu of having the boy arrested on the spot, Jones captured him with a snap of his bullwhip.
Ultimately, Round became Jones’ driver, would-be bodyguard, and comic relief who spouted phrases such as “Wow! Holy Smoke! Crash landing!,” “Indy! Cover your heart! Cover your heart!,” and “Hold onto your potatoes!” during tense scenes. In The Goonies, Quan played tech-savvy, gadget-obsessed Richard “Data” Wang.
Earlier this month, Quan received well-deserved kudos for Everything at the 80th Golden Globe Awards show. He told the live audience there were a few false starts in the intervening decades. But if Spielberg delivered a Goonies script that lived up to the original, he’d be very much open to playing Data again. He also noted with amazement that people who used to recognize him from his ’80s roles now perceive him as Waymond Wang.
“It has been an incredible ride it, it has been unbelievable, but I think the most memorable is, you know, for the longest time people have come up to me and they would say ‘Are you the kid from Indiana Jones, are you the kid from Goonies, but now when I go out people say, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re Waymond from Everything Everywhere All at Once‘ and that was what I always hoped would happen.”
Ke Huy Quan’s role in ‘The Goonies’
Set in Astoria, Oregon, the plot of The Goonies unfolds as childhood friends learn that their beloved “goon docks” neighborhood may be razed to make way for a country club. Soon thereafter, a member of the criminal Fratelli family escapes from jail with the assistance of their decidedly unfeminine matriarch, Mama.
Meanwhile, the Goonies gather at Mikey’s house where they explore the attic and find a treasure map they attribute to a long-ago local pirate named One-Eyed Willy. Continuing to poke around the attic, Chunk discovers a framed newspaper article about scavenger Chester Copperpot who turned up missing while searching for Willy’s lost treasure in the ’30s.
After initially rejecting Mikey’s idea to find the treasure and spend it to save their family homes, the kids change their collective mind, and the hunt for One-Eyed Willy’s coveted cache is on. Using the map and a circa 1632 doubloon with mysterious holes, the Goonies set out on their quest. One-Eyed Willy’s backstory and the rest of the tale can be read at The Goonies‘ Wiki.
Although most Goonies characters are referred to by a single nickname, some actually had first and last names. According to Goonies Fandom, Mouth’s full name was Clark Devereaux, and Chunk’s was Lawrence Cohen.
Ke Huy Quan’s zigzag path to the Oscars
Quan’s Golden Globe isn’t the only feather in his recently-returned-to-movie-stardom cap. About an hour after Quan found out that he was also an Oscar nominee for his part in Everything Everywhere All at Once, he told Fortune magazine:
“It feels surreal. I cannot believe this is happening. When I heard the nomination, I jumped up and I screamed so loud. I felt exactly how I felt when my agent called to tell me I got the part of Waymond. This is something that I have dreamed of for more than 30 years.”
After his success with Indiana Jones and Goonies, Quan fielded scant job offers due to a lack of opportunities for Asian-American actors. Aspiring to remain in the biz, Quan attended film school and sought jobs behind the camera. Some of Quan’s non-acting credits include stunt coordinator on the short film, Enigma, foley artist on The Other Side, and producer of a 1999 short called Voodoo.
Wise words from Waymond Wang: “The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind. Please. Be kind… especially when we don’t know what’s going on.”
