Ke Huy Quan Shouts Out His ‘Goonies’ Costars After Oscars 2023 Win: ‘Goonies Never Say Die’
Ke Huy Quan #KeHuyQuan
Ke Huy Quan is getting emotional over how far he has come since his start as a child actor.
The Vietnamese-American star, who won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars 2023 on Sunday night for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, said in the press room after the ceremony that several of his Goonies costars had reached out to support him ahead of the event.
“Corey Feldman, one of my Goonies brothers, called,” said Quan, 51, shouting out the actor who played Mouth to his Data in the 1985 cult film. “I was talking to Kerri Green, and of course Jeff Cohen, who is my entertainment lawyer, is here tonight with me. He was in the audience.”
Quan previously opened up about how actor-turned-attorney Cohen, who played Chunk in The Goonies, helped him secure his contract for Everything Everywhere. He even gave Cohen, 48, a shout-out in his acceptance speech Sunday following his big win, and shared a video to his Instagram Story ahead of the ceremony that showed Cohen giving Quan a hug and telling him, “I’m so proud of you!”
“That’s why I wanted to thank him, because I love all of them so much, and every single one of them is so happy,” Quan continued in the press room. “Sean [Astin] reached out, Josh [Brolin], Martha [Plimpton]. We are always bonded, you know, we’re family together,” he said.
“Goonies never say die,” he added, quoting the film’s famous line.
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Quan has had quite a run with Everything Everywhere All at Once. He kicked off the year with a best supporting actor award at the Golden Globes in January, then culminated the season with his Oscar win.
Decades after first achieving success in Hollywood, Quan beat out Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway), Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans) and Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday.
After taking the stage during his win to accept the honor from Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur, the star began his teary acceptance speech by shouting out his 84-year-old mother, who was at home watching.
“Mom, I just won an Oscar!” he said, holding up his trophy, before reflecting on his journey, from “spending a year in a refugee camp” to becoming a child actor and, now, an Academy Award winner “on Hollywood’s biggest stage.”
“They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me,” continued Quan, who even got a hug from former Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom costar Harrison Ford during the film’s win for Best Picture. “This — this — is the American dream!”
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In Sunday’s press room shortly after his win, Quan said the first thing he was going to do was call his agent on Monday morning, “because I remember when I was struggling.”
“I try not to bother him too much, but I would call him once every three months, once every six months, and I would say, ‘Hey, is there anything out there for me?’ ” he continued. “And the answer would always be the same: ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. There’s nothing out there, but I’ll continue to look.’ “
“So hopefully when I call my agent tomorrow, he will give me a different answer!” Quan joked.
The USC film school graduate went on to thank his mother and all she’s done for him, then shared an endearing moment he had on Sunday with Steven Spielberg — who directed Quan in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — during one of the commercial breaks.
“He put his arms around me and he said, ‘Ke, you are now an Oscar-winning actor.’ And hearing him say that meant the world to me, and I still cannot believe it,” Quan said.
The Oscars aired live on ABC Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. ET.
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