Ke Huy Quan accepts the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role award for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” during the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California, US, February 26, 2023. Photo by Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
Vietnamese-American actor Ke Huy Quan became the first Asian male film winner at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award at the 2023 awards on Monday.
“This moment no longer belongs to just me,” Quan said as he accepted the award. “It also belongs to everyone who has asked for change. When I stepped away from acting it was because there were so few opportunities. The landscape looks so different here than before. So thank you so much to everyone in this room who contributed to these change.”
Quan concludes his acceptance speech full of inspiration: “Please keep on going because the spotlight will one day find you.”
The 51-year-old is the first Asian male actor to win an award in the film category of SAG. Last year, South Korean star actor Lee Jung-jae won the television category for his main role in the popular series “Squid Game.”
Quan was born in 1971 in Saigon. In 1979, his family moved to the United States, where he began acting at the age of 12. He made a name for himself in Hollywood as a child actor playing iconic roles like Indiana Jones’ kid sidekick Short Round in the 1984 blockbuster “Indiana “Jones and the Temple of Doom.” A year later, Quan once again found mainstream popularity as Data, the young, inventive one among his neighborhood crew in the ’80s classic “The Goonies. But after that, he failed for decades to get any roles on a regular basis.
After roughly 40 years, Quan’s career was revived when he starred in A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” In the film, he played the doting husband and laundromat owner Waymond Wang, alongside the main character Evelyn, who was portrayed by Michelle Yeoh.
His performance in the movie was critically acclaimed and swept many awards, including the Golden Globes, where he won best supporting actor.
“Quan’s performance as Waywond Wang is the undisputed frontrunner for the Oscars after garnering multiple industry accolades including the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards,” entertainment magazine variety wrote.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” has been nominated for 11 Oscars including best picture. Quan has also been nominated for best actor in a supporting role.
The Academy Awards will take place on March 13.
