Ke Huy Quan, the Boy From “Indiana Jones,” Won a Golden Globe After Years Away From Acting, and His Speech Left Everyone Emotional

The Golden Globe Awards have been around since 1944, and every year, new inspiring stories arise from the ceremony. At the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, one of the stars of the evening was Ke Huy Quan, known for his roles as Short Round in the Indiana Jones movie series and as Data in The Goonies (1985), who came out victorious after a decades-long career hiatus.

The actor won his first-ever Golden Globe award.

At the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, Ke Huy Quan kicked off the ceremony with his win in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film, Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). This was his first time being nominated for a Golden Globe since his career started at age 12 in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). And ever since he stepped onto the stage to receive his award, the actor has been making headlines with his moving acceptance speech.

His emotional speech has taken the internet by storm.

The Vietnamese-born American actor teared up when speaking to the audience at the Golden Globe Awards about how much the award means to him. He started by thanking Steven Spielberg, who was in the audience, for giving him his first acting role in the Indiana Jones movie series. “I was raised to never forget where I came from and to always remember who gave me my first opportunity,” said Quan.

He then opened up about the struggles he faced in the late ’90s and early 2000s when he was forced to quit acting because there weren’t roles available for him. “When I started my career as a child actor, I felt very lucky to have been chosen. As I grew older, I started to wonder if that was it, if that was just luck,” he stated emotionally.

“For so many years, I was afraid I had nothing more to offer. That no matter what I did, I would never surpass what I achieved as a kid. Thankfully, more than 30 years later, 2 guys thought of me,” said Quan, aiming his words at directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who cast him in the award-winning role. “They remembered that kid and they gave me an opportunity to try again,” he added.

The actor then went on to thank others who have contributed to the rebirth of his career, including “the one person who never stopped believing in [him],” his wife, Echo. “I love you with all my heart,” Quan said.

The role that marked his triumphant return to acting

Inspired by the success of Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Quan made the decision to restart his acting career, and shortly after, he landed an important part in the science fiction film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. In it, Quan plays not 1 but 3 characters, including Waymond Wang, a naive husband who travels through the multiverse and eventually meets the other versions of himself. The movie was a commercial hit and received critical acclaim.

Bonus: You can watch the speech in its entirety here.

Have you watched Everything Everywhere All at Once yet? What other actors do you think also deserve a second chance at success?