Ke Huy Quan

From refugee camp to Hollywood's biggest stage, Ke's story is one of resilience, tenacity, and unyielding courage in the face of out stacked odds.

Born into a family of Chinese descent with eight siblings, Quan, along with his father and five siblings, fled to Hong Kong when he was four years old, while Quan's mother and three other siblings went to Malaysia. After staying at a refugee camp in Hong Kong, Quan's entire family was admitted to the United States as part of the Refugee Admissions Program in 1979. Quan became a child actor shortly after and rose to fame playing Short Round in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom(1984) and Data in The Goonies (1985). Following a few roles in the 1990s, he took an almost 20-year acting hiatus during which he worked as a stunt choreographer and assistant director.

Quan recently returned to acting full-time in 2022, starring alongside Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Stephanie Hsu as the supporting role in A24’s critically-acclaimed and award-winning cultural phenomenon Everything Everywhere All At Once. Directed and written by Daniel Scheinertand Daniel Kwan, the film centers on an aging Chinese immigrant (Michelle Yeoh) who is swept up in an insane adventure where she alone can save what’s important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes. Quan plays Yeoh’s distanced yet undeniably good-hearted husband, “Waymond.” Quan has made an astounding impact on the awards landscape on behalf of his performance. This performance has garnered Quan an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics Choice Film Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Independent Spirit Award, Hollywood Critics Association Award, and the Gotham Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance. The film was the most decorated at the 95th Oscars, with eleven nominations and seven wins, including Best Picture.

On television, Quan can be seen in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese as series regular ‘Freddy Wong.’ The series follows Jinwang (Ben Wang), an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When he meets a new foreign student at school, even more worlds collide in Jin's life. Quan also stars alongside Daniel Wu and Michelle Yeoh.

Quan’s journey reminds us that the human spirit knows no bounds. It can transcend adversity and leap over hurdles. His story is a hymn to courage, an anthem to resilience, and an ode to the power of dreams.