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NEVER SAYS DIE…

As Ke Huy Quan recalls, he was anxious shooting his first scene for Everything Everywhere All at Once after roughly 20 years away from acting. But a two-decade wait had helped make him perseverant – so, he persevered. And the way Quan tells it, Jamie Lee Curtis hugged him afterwards and said, ‘Ke, that was fucking amazing.’

Soon, everyone wanted to give Quan a hug (and an Oscar) for how amazing he was in 2022’s bagel-based brain-melter. Flexing multiple skill sets as variants of one man, he hit the marks of upbeat father, fanny-pack fighter and moody romantic with charm, verve and natural ease. And now, with upcoming movies from the Russo brothers and action studio 87North on his plate, he’s positioned to amaze again.

Audiences first warmed to Quan in the early 80s, after he migrated with family from Vietnam and caught Spielberg’s attention. He brought brimming energy to Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies, only to struggle afterwards. He trained hard but after appearances in TV shows (Together We Stand, Head of the Class) and forgotten films (California Man, Breathing Fire), work was not forthcoming for a young Asian actor.

Though ‘dispirited’, Quan kept movies close. He studied film at university and bided his time, working as an assistant fight choreographer with Corey Yuen and an assistant director to famously slow-moving auteur Wong Kar-wai. Action know-how and patience thus nurtured, it was when Quan saw Crazy Rich Asians in 2018 that he developed ‘serious FOMO’ and plunged back into acting.

After adventure-fantasy Finding ‘Ohana and Everything…, Quan banked a savvy meta cameo in Disney+’s American Born Chinese and breezily stole scenes as Loki’s TVA tech, Ouroboros. In 2024, we’ll see him united with fellow MCU alumni (the Russos and Chris Pratt, plus Millie Bobby Brown) for sci-fi adventure The Electric State and hear him in Kung Fu Panda 4. And he’ll lead With Love for John Wick studio 87North, a fitting destination for an actor who’s as beloved as Keanu Reeves. ‘I’m in such a good place,’ Quan has said. Not before time, his perseverance is clearly working wonders.

KUNG FU PANDA 4 OPENS IN CINEMAS ON 28 MARCH. WITH LOVE AND THE ELECTRIC STATE ARE BOTH TBC.