Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ performance snubbed by Golden Globes
USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt breaks down the snubs and surprises from this year’s Golden Globes nominations plus previews the NBC broadcast.
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Ke Huy Quan started the water works early at the 80th Golden Globe Awards Tuesday, breaking down in tears while accepting his award for best supporting actor in the multi-nominated “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
Quan’s emotional speech started with him confessing that he wondered if he would ever be able to hit the acting heights he reached back in 1984, when he was cast at age 13 alongside Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”
“Thankfully, more than 30 years later, two guys thought of me,” said Quan, 51, referring to “Everything” directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who also appeared to be in tears.
Golden Globes 2023: Angela Bassett, Ke Huy Quan win supporting actor honors
But “they remembered that kid and they gave me an opportunity to try again, and everything that has happened since has been unbelievable. Thank you so, so much for helping me find my answer.”
Quan also thanked director Steven Spielberg, who blew back kisses from his table, as well as “the most important person in my life, the one person that never stopped believing in me, my wife, Corinna, I love you with all my heart.”
Backstage, Quan revealed that after wrapping filming on “Everywhere” he was out on auditions constantly, and yet he “could not land a single job, and I was so worried that maybe I’m not good at this.”
“First of all, no I’m not Tom Cruise, I’m not Brad Pitt. I’m not Leonardo DiCaprio,” he said. “But hey, I just won a Golden Globe!”
Quan expressed gratitude not only for breaking back into acting in a big way, but also for doing so at a time when Hollywood is more focused than ever on diversity.
“Moving forward, I really want to play all kinds of roles. That was not available to me when I was much, much younger,” he said. “I’m grateful the landscape has changed, there’s a lot more progress now. I just want to keep an open mind and to see what’s out there.”
2023 Golden Globes winners list: Angela Bassett, Tyler James Williams, Ke Huy Quan
Ke Huy Quan’s childhood roles in ‘Indiana Jones,’ ‘The Goonies’
After his “Indiana Jones” success, Quan appeared in 1985’s “The Goonies” as Data, and some years later he starred on a few sitcoms including “Head of the Class.”
But his career opportunities in the acting sphere dried up and he started working behind the scenes as a stunt coordinator, until Michelle Yeoh and the “Everything” team came calling.
Quan had an emotional reunion last fall with his “Indiana Jones” co-star Ford at Disney’s D23 Expo. A photo of Indy and his now-grown sidekick went viral online.
Could he be making another “Goonies” movie?
“Honestly, for the last 30-something years we have tried to do a ‘Goonies 2.’ That was the movie that I thought I would need to make a career comeback,” he said backstage. “We had numerous scripts but there was not one script that felt I could live up to. … I don’t know if there’s gonna be a ‘Goonies 2,’ but I would be open to revisiting that character.”
Contributing: Charles Trepany
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is an emotional gut punch about queer erasure, acceptance
