Ke Huy Quan was a child star in two of the biggest movies of the 1980s, but gave up on acting when Hollywood gave up on him. Now he has made a remarkable comeback by winning an Oscar.
“They say stories like this only happen in the movies,” a tearful Quan told the Oscars as he accepted his award for best supporting actor.
“I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This is the American dream.”
His is a story that would be hard to believe if it was the plot of a film.
As a child, Quan moved from Vietnam to Hong Kong as a refugee, then settled in the US.
He got an audition by accident to play pickpocket Short Round in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, then starred as gadget-loving Data in The Goonies the following year.
But as he grew up, the roles dried up, and he settled for working behind the scenes as a stunt co-ordinator and assistant director.
