In the August 2024 issue of Around Alhambra, we chronicled the life and career of Alhambra High School alumni, actor Ke Huy Quan. We started by telling of his Han Chinese ethnicity and how he was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. He and his family were ‘boat people’ who found their way to Los Angeles in 1979.
Quan fell in love with acting and soon got a part in The Goonies. Then at age 12-13 he landed the part of ‘Short Round’ in the hit movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom playing in several scenes as Harrison Ford’s sidekick. It should have been his breakout roll, but it did not pan out that way. Shortly thereafter his family moved to Alhambra.
After graduating from Alhambra High School, Quan enrolled in the prestigious USC Film School while he continued seeking acting roles which were few and far between. By 2002, he stopped acting altogether and took up work behind the camera, often as a stunt coordinator and fight choreographer.
When roles for Asian actors began to increase with the popularity of Jackie Chan and the success of Crazy Rich Asians, Quan started auditioning again and was at last cast in the action film Everything Everywhere, All at Once, which screened in 2022. After 20 years behind the camera, he moved back in front where he belongs. He played Waymond Wang, with a scene as a Jackie Chan-style fighter. For his efforts he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
His acting services have been in demand ever since. Among other roles he stars in the Marvel Comics inspired Loki, where he plays A.D. Doug, a can-do Mr. Fixit, who can mend anything including time travel machines. With his new found popularity, he was even invited to the White House to meet President Biden.
Now there is some recent news about Mr. Quan. On February 3 of this year, he was picked to put his hand and foot prints in cement at the world famous TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. During the ceremony, he talked about how he would visit the theater frequently to see movies in this premier venue and place his hands and feet in the cement prints of the famous actors included there. Then on February 9, his latest film, Love Hurts opened at theaters. This time, Quan plays the lead and his theatrical fighting skills are on full display. Ke Huy Quan continues to impress the Hollywood community along with movie fans and TV and streaming viewers. Congratulations on these latest successes. If you learn that Quan will be in an upcoming movie, go to the Regal Edwards Alhambra Renaissance theater and see it!
