Ke Huy Quan
Birthdate: Aug 20, 1971
Birthplace: Saigon, Vietnam
A charming, amusing performer who has doubled as a stunt choreographer, Ke Huy Quan (birthname: Ke Huy Quan), whose supporting performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) swept the awards season including a Best Supporting Actor Oscar,
made a name for himself in the 1980s in such roles as Indiana Jones’ teen sidekick in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), following that turn with an appearance as the nerdy character of Data in another Steven Spielberg production, The Goonies (1985).
After a lengthy hiatus from acting, Quan returned to the movies in 2019 and appeared opposite Michelle Yeoh in three roles in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). Four years after his family took asylum in Los Angeles after fleeing their war-torn country of Vietnam, Ke Huy Quan was selected for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom from a wide audition of school kids.
The role, Short Round, had the young Quan playing opposite Harrison Ford under Steven Spielberg’s direction. This led to a solid string of roles in Amblin Productions movies like The Goonies, as well as movies produced in Taiwan and Japan. After a brief run on the hit sitcom, Head of the Class (1990), Ke Huy Quan scored his only starring role in the martial arts action movie, Breathing Fire (1991).
A victim of Hollywood’s meager opportunities for Asian actors, Ke Huy Quan quit acting, studied film at USC, and met fight choreographer Corey Yuen. Quan worked as a stunt choreographer on such movies as James Wong’s The One (2001), in which he collaborated with Jet Li, and Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000).
He worked with the great Hong Kong-based filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, serving as Wong’s assistant director in 2046 (2004). Quan returned to the U.S. and then to acting in 2019, under Jude Weng’s direction in Finding ‘Ohana (2021) and under the helming of Daniels (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Quan reunited with his Everything co-star Yeoh for Destin Daniel Cretton’s Disney + series, American Born Chinese (2023). Quan was a new voice cast member in DreamWorks Animation’s sequel, Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024), joining cast newcomers Awkwafina, Ronny Ching, Lori Tan Chinn, and Viola Davis under Mike Mitchell’s and Stephanie Ma’s co-direction, and grossing $547.7 million for distributor Universal Pictures. Quan starred in the action comedy, Love Hurts (2025), with Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Marshawn Lynch, Mustafa Shakir, and Sean Astin under Jonathan Eusebio’s direction, which was released wide by Universal Pictures.
Ke Huy Quan joined the cast of the sequel, Zootopia 2 (2025), including Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and Fortune Feimster under the co-direction of Jared Bush and Byron Howard, and produced and released by Walt Disney Studios. Quan starred in the New York City-set action thriller, Fairytale in New York (date to be announced), directed by Jalmari Helander.
Ke Huy Quan Photos and Videos
Personal life
Ke Huy Quan was born in the (then) South Vietnamese capital of Saigon in 1971. His family belongs to the Chinese Hoa minority in Vietnam. Born during the height of the U.S. war in Vietnam that led to U.S. withdrawal and defeat, Quan and his family fled their country in 1978 for Malaysia, where they were then selected for asylum in the U.S. in 1979. Ke Huy Quan’s family of eleven settled in Los Angeles, where he attended junior high school in the suburb of Tujunga.
A Chinese American, his Anglicized name is Jonathan Ke Huy Quan. He attended Alhambra High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Alhambra. Ke Huy Quan is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he attended the School of Cinematic Arts. He then studied at the University of Manchester in England. Quan is married. His height is 5’ 5”.
Ke Huy Quan Movies
actor
Previous (5)
- 2025 |
Love Hurts
A realtor is pulled back into the life he left behind after his former partner-in-crime resurfaces with an ominous message. With his crime-lord brother also on his trail, he must confront his past and the history he never fully buried.
- 2024 |
Incredibles 3
asGary
Brave rabbit cop Judy Hopps and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde, team up again to crack a new case, the most perilous and intricate of their careers.
- 2024 |
Kung Fu Panda 4
asHan
After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.
- 2022 |
Everything Everywhere All at Once
asWaymond Wang
Everything Everywhere All at Once
A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.
- 1985 |
The Goonies
asData
A group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.
Facts About Ke Huy Quan
Master: Ke Huy Quan is a certified master of the martial art practice of Taekwondo.
Range: Quan plays three roles in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Fresh: When director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas cast him for the role of Short Round, Ke Huy Quan had never seen either Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) or Lucas’ Star Wars (1977).
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