Ke Huy Quan, a child star who returned to the limelight decades later for “Everything Everywhere at Once,” won the Oscar for best-supporting actor.
Earning the first standing ovation of the night, Kwan took the stage and gave a shout-out to his 84-year-old mother, who is watching at home. “Mom, I just won an Oscar!”
For Quan, the win marks a particularly emotional coda to awards season. He rose to fame before his teens, playing Harrison Ford’s sidekick in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and appearing in 1985’s “The Goonies.” But Kwan quit acting shortly after because he found that there weren’t many significant film roles for Asians. He won’t return until 2021 to star in “Everything Everywhere” as Waymond Wang, the nosy husband of Michelle Yeoh’s multiverse-straddling laundromat owner.
“My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow, I ended up here on the biggest stage in Hollywood,” he said through tears. “They say stories like this only Happen only in movies. I can’t believe this is happening to me. This – this is the American dream!”
He’s been the biggest part of awards season, winning statuettes at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, and SAG Awards, in addition to landing his first Oscar. It’s a touching coincidence that she’s been able to cross the awards circuit with Steven Spielberg, who worked with Kwan on “Indiana Jones” and is nominated to direct the semi-autobiographical drama “The Fablemans.”
“Dreams are something you have to believe in. I almost gave up on my dream,” he said fighting back tears. “To all of you, please keep your dream alive.”
Before exiting the stage, Kwan expressed his gratitude to the Academy and Hollywood. “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you so much for welcoming me back.”
Kwan was nominated alongside Judd Hirsch for “The Fablemans”, Brendan Gleeson for “The Banshees of Inishrin”, Barry Keoghan for “The Banshees of Inishrin” and Brian Tyree Henry for “Causeway”.
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere at Once” premiered at 2022’s SXSW to critical and commercial acclaim. At the box office, the film became a rare pandemic-era indie smash with over $100 million globally. It is the highest-grossing release of A24 till date.
It’s no small feat that the film managed to not only stay but dominate the Oscars conversation for 12 months. During its record award season, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” became only the fifth film in history to win all four major Guild Awards (DGA, PGA, SAG, and WGA). It’s up for 11 Academy Awards, the most of any film this year, including nominations for Best Picture, Best Director for Daniels, Best Supporting Actress for Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis (who took home the trophy), and Best Actress for Yeoh. ,
Prior to his big comeback, Kwan lost his health insurance during COVID because he was out of work. “Everything Everywhere” was slated to be filmed in early 2020, but its theatrical release was delayed by two years due to the pandemic.
“I called my agent and said, ‘Can you please get me something? It doesn’t matter, I just need a job to meet the minimum requirement for health insurance,'” he said recently. Told on “The Late Late Show with James Corden”. “And I haven’t got a single job.”
At the time, he realized that his career could rise or fall on the success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”. So, he called a producer to ask, “Can you tell me one thing? Am I good in the movie? Nobody wants to hire me.”
He recalled, “[the producer said], ‘K, just be patient. You wait a while.'”