Ke Huy Quan

Ke Huy Quan was born in Saigon, South Vietnam, on August 20, 1971. He immigrated to the United States as a child, and his early life included time in a Hong Kong refugee camp before settling in California. He began his acting career at age 13, securing the role of Short Round in Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984). The following year, he co-starred in “The Goonies” (1985) as Richard “Data” Wang, solidifying his status as a recognizable child actor. He continued acting in films like “It Takes a Thief” (1986) and “Breathing Fire” (1991), and television series such as “Together We Stand” (1986–1987) and “Head of the Class” (1990–1991). Quan also studied Taekwondo, which he applied to his early film roles.

As an adult, Quan faced challenges in finding acting roles in the United States and took a nearly two-decade hiatus from acting. During this period, he pursued a film program at the University of Southern California, where he edited the award-winning short film “Voodoo.” He also worked behind the scenes in various capacities, including as an assistant fight choreographer for “X-Men” (2000) and “The One” (2001), and as an assistant director for Wong Kar-wai’s “2046” (2004). His diverse experience behind the camera contributed to his understanding of filmmaking.

Inspired by the success of “Crazy Rich Asians” in 2018, Quan decided to return to acting. In 2019, he secured a role in the Netflix film “Finding ‘Ohana” (2021). His notable comeback came with the critically acclaimed film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022), where his performance as Waymond Wang earned him numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This achievement made him the first Vietnam-born actor to win an Academy Award. Since his resurgence, he has joined the cast of Disney+’s “American Born Chinese” (2023) and the second season of Marvel’s “Loki” (2023), and has upcoming roles in “Kung Fu Panda 4” (2024), “Love Hurts” (2025), “The Electric State,” and “Zootopia 2.”