It’s been over thirty years since actor Ke Huy Quan had major roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies. He was the fearless sidekick everyone would want on their side with a precious sense of humor and one-line zingers to add to his charm. While Quan could have easily been like Willy Wonka’s Peter Ostrum in only having a childhood Hollywood career, he is back at age 50 and is better than ever in A24’s newest box office hit. How did Ke Huy Quan get there? One Goonies actor played into how Data actor Ke Huy Quan ended up joining the new movie release Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The Goonies cast all went in a bunch of different directions in their careers. For example, Chunk actor Jeff Cohen ended up becoming an entertainment lawyer representing none other than his old chum Data. Ke Huy Quan spoke to People about this funny experience of joining Everything Everywhere All At Once.
We’ll be friends for life. He’s my Goonies brother. In fact, my [Everything Everywhere] 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. I thought that was hilarious.
Imagine having Chunk as your lawyer! I wonder if he’s ever asked to do “the truffle shuffle” for any of his clients. It’s nice to know that some friendships that came from The Goonies continued to stay for many, many years later. No matter what these former child stars are doing right now, they have still been able to find the time to reunite and reminisce on their former Goonies days like during their nostalgic Zoom session with Josh Gad. There were plenty of laughs the cast shared together through their monologue reenactments and sharing some Goonies trivia. While there’s a good chance there won’t be a sequel to the beloved classic, we can still hope for The Goonies to still come together to reflect every decade on their experiences of their Goonies antics.
It may have come as a surprise to you when you saw a familiar face like Ke Huy Quan’s in the trailer for the latest (non-Marvel) multiverse flick where he plays a loving husband trying to help his wife save the world by stepping into the multiverse universe. Of all the roles to choose for his onscreen comeback, Quan picked a challenging and unique one where he played three different versions of himself. Considering the stereotypical roles given to Asian actors at the time was the reason for leaving the acting industry, the Short Round actor was in tears after reading through the new A24 film script as he felt that the role was written for him.
You can also thank the movie Crazy Rich Asians for its Asian visibility to get Ke Huy Quan back into the entertainment biz as the chance to represent his culture as well. He has explained the importance of Asian representation before as audiences may have seen films with the plot of his new film before, but not with a Chinese American family being represented. Quan believed that films like Everything Everywhere All At Once are a stepping stone for representation not just for Asians but for people of all cultures to be visible to the entertainment world.
Let’s hope that we can continue to see Ke Huy Quan making a name for himself and playing roles he can be proud of for many years to come. You can currently see Everything Everywhere All At Once in theaters now as well as watch the classic ‘80s adventure flick The Goonies on Tubi.