Indiana Jones: Short Round star breaks silence on cinematic comeback – ‘I belong here’

When Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released in 1984 it was a smash hit. The sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark earned a staggering $333 million at the box office and introduced a swathe of new characters to the series. Harrison Ford was joined on-screen by Kate Capshaw, Amrish Puri – but most notably Short Round star Ke Huy Quan.

The sidekick was a beloved part of the film – and the franchise – going forward, but shortly after appearing in Indiana Jones, Quan stepped away from Hollywood. The following year the young American actor starred in The Goonies as Data. Beyond that, he had small parts in some Hong Kong movies but has mostly been absent from the big screen.

After spending years working as a stunt coordinator in the film industry, last year saw his return to American film in Finding ‘Ohana, a family adventure movie. 

While there were rumours he was supposed to appear in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he never appeared. Further rumours have since arisen suggesting Ke Huy Quan will return to Short Round in the upcoming Indiana Jones 5. 

But for now, he has made a complete comeback to feature film.

Quan is due to star in A24’s adventure comedy Everything Everywhere All At Once. Speaking out about coming back to the big screen, he revealed the representation of Asian people in Hollywood cinema is what put him off acting in the first place.

Looking back on his iconic roles, he said: “Those two characters are not your typical stereotype Asian characters. Short Round is courageous, he saves Indy’s life. Data is one of the gang. But as I got older, there were not a lot of offers, and even when there was one, it was very stereotypical. It wasn’t fun to audition for those.” (Via Empire)

READ MORE: Indiana Jones: Sean Connery ‘almost did Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’

Quan said: “I laughed so hard and so long, I woke up my wife. And by the time she came out, I had tears running down my cheeks. She said: ‘Are you okay?’ I said: ‘I love this script. And I think this role is written for me.'”

And things only got better for him once he started filming the movie last year.

Quan is working alongside some enormous stars in the movie, including Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis and James Hong. Remembering getting on set for the first time, he said: “As the days went by, I realised, I definitely belong here. And I want to be here.

Everything Everywhere All At Once hits cinemas on March 25.

The Indiana Jones films are available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.   

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