The Golden Globes took place on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, as stars of the big and small screen came together to recognise the most outstanding achievements in TV and film from the past year. The Banshees of Inisherin was the big winner on the night, taking home three awards for best film – musical or comedy, best screenplay, and best actor in a musical or comedy for Irish star Colin Farrell.
Steven Spielberg was named best director for his semi-autobiographical drama, The Fabelmans – which was also named best drama film – while Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon took home the award for best TV drama. Elsewhere on the night, Evan Peters was named best actor in a limited series or TV movie for his turn as twisted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
But perhaps the most remarkable story of the night is that of Ke Huy Quan, who took home the best supporting actor award for his role in the critically acclaimed Everything Everywhere All at Once. The Vietnam-born American actor has had a varied career in the film business.
After cementing himself in pop culture thanks to two iconic performances, he found himself out of the limelight for more than three decades, before a sudden and overwhelming resurgence in 2022. Quan first found fame in the 1980s, starring in two hugely succesful films released in quick succession.
His breakout role came aged 12 thanks to Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg, when he starred alongside Harrison Ford in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In it, he played Short Round, the wise-cracking sidekick to Ford’s titular archeologist.
The following year, he reunited with Spielberg for iconic adventure-comedy The Goonies, in which he starred as amateur inventor Richard “Data” Wang, a member of the eponymous group of children. The two roles immortalised Quan as a figure synonymous with Hollywood cinema of the time, but in the decade that followed, his acting career somewhat dried up.
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After several years resigned to appearances in music videos and minor screen roles, his final notable performance came alongside Brendan Fraser’s thawed caveman in 1992 comedy Encino Man. During his emotional Golden Globe acceptance speech on Tuesday, the 51-year-old admitted to thinking “that was it” for his acting career.
He said: “As I grew older, I started to wonder if that was it. For so many years I was afraid I had nothing more to offer. That no matter what I did, I would never surpass what I achieved as a kid.”
With his acting career seemingly over, Quan studied for a film degree at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and stepped behind the camera, serving as a stunt coordinator and fight choreographer for 2000’s X-Men and 2001 Jet Li action flick The One. Then, more than 30 years after his turn in Indiana Jones, Quan returned to the screen after he was approached by filmmaking partners Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – collectively known as the Daniels – to star in their upcoming feature Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The film was released to universal acclaim in March last year, and is frequently found in many ‘film of the year’ lists. The film boasts a Certified Fresh 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while movie-based social networking site Letterboxd revealed it had briefly surpassed The Godfather as its highest-rated film of all time within three weeks of its release.
In the surreal comedy-drama, Quan stars as several versions of Waymond Wang, appearing as both the mild-mannered husband of Michelle Yeoh’s lead character Evelyn and his alternate reality counterpart who aids her in saving the multiverse. Shortly after securing the role, Quan was offered a supporting role in Goonies-esque adventure film Finding ʻOhana for Netflix.
Ke Huy Quan gets emotional as he accepts his #GoldenGlobe. https://t.co/IpBnF0ZqEp pic.twitter.com/i1dj81Ns6c
— Variety (@Variety)
Following the success of Everything Everywhere... and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to his performance, Quan found himself in demand after more than two decades, with many within and outside Hollywood touched by his sensational return and humble nature. He has won countless awards from film societies and critics associations for the role which has catalysed his return to Hollywood.
Quan is set to star in the Disney+ adaptation of award-winning graphic novel American Born Chinese, while also gearing up to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the second season of Disney+ series Loki, both slated for release later this year.
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