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Ke Huy Quan wins Oscar in an inspiring Hollywood comeback

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Ke Huy Quan kisses his Oscar statuette as he accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES ā€“ Ke Huy Quan had mostly disappeared from Hollywood for over two decades, dispirited by the lack of on-camera work for Asian Americans. He returned in a big way, winning the supporting actor Oscar to cap an inspiring comeback story.

Quan accepted the trophy Sunday night for his role in ā€œEverything Everywhere All at Once,ā€ becoming just the second Asian winner ever in the supporting actor category, joining Haing S. Ngor for ā€œThe Killing Fieldsā€ in 1984.

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As his name was announced, Quan rose and hugged co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis, who won supporting actress honors after him. He clasped his hands to his mouth.

ā€œMy mom is 84 years old and sheā€™s at home watching,ā€ Quan said. ā€œMom, I just won an Oscar!ā€

An emotional Quan kissed his statue repeatedly and sniffled into the microphone on stage after receiving a standing ovation. Presenter Ariana DeBose was in tears.

ā€œMy journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp and somehow I ended up here on Hollywoodā€™s biggest stage,ā€ he said. ā€œThey say stories like this only happen in the movies. I canā€™t believe this is happening to me. This is the American dream.ā€

As a child actor, Quan followed his manager's advice to adopt an Americanized name, so he went by Jonathan Ke Quan.

ā€œWhen I decided to get back into acting three years ago, the very first thing I wanted to do was to go back to my birth name,ā€ he said backstage. ā€œTo see Ariana open that envelope and say Ke Huy Quan, it was so emotional.ā€

Quan rode a huge wave of momentum into the Oscars, having won every major award except the BAFTA. Quan endeared himself during acceptance speeches as much as he did in his winning performance. He used his position to encourage other struggling actors that one day they also will find success.

Along the awards show trail, the enormously likeable Quan compiled a photo album for the ages as he posed for selfies with everyone from Tom Cruise to directors James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. It seemed anyone famous was happy to smile or make funny faces alongside Quan.

The Vietnam-born actor whose family immigrated to California in the late 1970s first gained attention as a pre-teen in the hugely popular 1980s movies "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and ā€œThe Goonies.ā€ He went on to roles in the TV show ā€œHead of the Classā€ and the movie ā€œEncino Manā€ (starring fellow Oscar nominee Brendan Fraser ) in the early 1990s before work dried up.

Finding few on-camera opportunities, Quan turned elsewhere. He earned a film degree from the University of Southern California and worked behind the scenes as a stunt coordinator and assistant director.

ā€œI owe everything to the love of my life, my wife Echo,ā€ he said, ā€œwho month after month, year after year for 20 years told me that one day, one day my time will come. Dreams are something you have to believe in. I almost gave up on mine. To all of you out there, please keep your dreams alive.ā€

Inspired by the success of the 2018 movie ā€œCrazy Rich Asians,ā€ Quan returned to acting and landed an audition for ā€œEverything Everywhere All at Once,ā€ which earned a leading 11 Oscar nominations. His former ā€œGooniesā€ co-star, Jeff Cohen, serves as his lawyer who drew up the contract for his Oscar-winning role.

ā€œThank you to my ā€˜Gooniesā€™ brother for life, Jeff Cohen,ā€ Quan said.

Now, people stop him to talk about a movie he made as a grown-up, ā€œEverything Everywhere All at Once."

As Waymond Wang, Quan appears in three different incarnations in the critically acclaimed film. He won a Golden Globe and became the first Asian man to win an individual category at the SAG Awards.

Quan won the Oscar over fellow nominees Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan of ā€œThe Banshees of Inisherin,ā€ Brian Tyree Henry of ā€œCausewayā€ and Judd Hirsch of ā€œThe Fabelmans.ā€

During a commercial break, Quan said he ran up to Spielberg, who gave Quan his first big break by casting him in ā€œIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.ā€ They hugged.

ā€œHe said, ā€˜Ke, you are now an Oscar-winning actor,'ā€ Quan said. ā€œHearing him say that meant the world to me and I still cannot believe it.ā€

He had another reunion on stage after ā€œEverything Everywhere All at Onceā€ was announced as best picture by Harrison Ford, Quan's co-star in ā€œIndiana Jones.ā€

The 51-year-old Quan is set to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series ā€œLokiā€ on Disney+.

However, he's in search of more work. Quan recalled years ago calling his agent every three and six months asking if there were any jobs for him only to be told no.

ā€œFirst thing tomorrow I'm going to call my agent,ā€ he said. ā€œHopefully, he'll give me a different answer.ā€

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For more coverage of this yearā€™s Academy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards


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