Ke Huy Quan reveals that an old The Goonies castmate helped negotiate his acting return in Everything Everywhere All at Once. The hit 2022 movie tells an intense story centering on a Chinese immigrant woman swept up in a multiverse-hopping adventure, which shows her glimpses of alternate lives she could have led. Quan stars as the family patriarch, Waymond Wang, alongside Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, James Hong, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
In an actor’s roundtable from THR, Quan is asked about his deal to return to acting in Everything Everywhere All at Once. He then reveals that his contract negotiation was handled by an old costar from The Goonies, Jeff Cohen, who played Chunk in the film. Since his time as a child actor, Cohen has become an entertainment lawyer, working behind the scenes, even to help an old friend get back into the limelight. Check out Quan’s comments about his Everything Everywhere All at Once deal below:
“I did a movie with Jeff Cohen who was in The Goonies with me, he’s Chunk. So, he’s all grown now, and he’s an entertainment lawyer, so he’s my entertainment lawyer. Yeah, so when the producer of our movie was trying to make my deal, he said he would never imagine that he would have to talk to Chunk to get Data to be in his movie. Yeah, it was just so sweet.”
Ke Huy Quan’s Career Comeback Explained
After early success as a child actor, playing Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies, Quan found quality acting parts for Asian performers were few and far between. Eventually, in the late 1990s, he chose to retire from the craft to work behind the scenes. He would go on to work as a stunt coordinator and assistant director who was still drawn to the medium despite not being in front of the camera.
However, after seeing the success of Crazy Rich Asians, Quan decided he wanted to make another attempt at acting. He pursued the role of Waymond in Everything Everywhere All at Once shortly after, which brought him back to the early days of acting as he was once again auditioning and waiting to hear back in hopes of landing the part. Finally, he won the role of Waymond, to which he dedicated himself with immense preparation. Ultimately, the film was a success, winning at the box office and garnering awards, with Quan taking home several himself.
What’s Next For Ke Huy Quan?
With Oscar nominations only a few weeks away, Everything Everywhere All at Once is guaranteed to land several, with Quan’s role being a possible candidate. If he were nominated or even won, it would provide another well-deserved bump for his reemerging career. However, he has already lined up his follow-up project, with Quan’s next appearance being in Marvel’s Loki season 2. He is also working on a Disney series called American Born Chinese, in which he will again be costarring with Yeoh. So, thanks to Everything Everywhere All at Once, Quan’s acting career is back on track, and the future looks bright.
Source: THR