Ke Huy Quan reveals his ‘Goonies’ costar negotiated his ‘Everything Everywhere’ contract
By Ryan General
January 11, 2023
Before you read:
Golden Globe-winning actor Ke Huy Quan recently revealed that his contract for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was negotiated by his “The Goonies” costar Jeff Cohen.
Quan made the revelation during the latest edition of The Hollywood Reporter’s Actor Roundtable, which also featured fellow actors Adam Sandler, Austin Butler, Brendan Fraser, Colin Farrell and Jeremy Pope.
Following his memorable roles in films like “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” in 1984 and “The Goonies” in 1985, Quan lamented that he struggled to land an acting job for decades.
“I spent the majority of my late teens and early 20s just waiting for the phone to ring, and it rarely rang, so I had no choice but to step away,” he recalled. “The difficult part was saying goodbye to the dream that I’d always had, but it was just difficult to be an Asian actor at that time, so I went to film school, graduated and then started working behind the camera and was content doing that.”
According to the former child star, he had nearly given up on reigniting his acting dream until he saw the 2018 film “Crazy Rich Asians” and realized that there are now more opportunities for minorities in Hollywood.
When asked who handled his deal for the multiverse-hopping blockbuster hit, Quan revealed that it was Cohen who represented him.
“I did a movie with Jeff Cohen, who was in ‘The Goonies’ with me — he was Chunk — he’s all grown now and he’s an entertainment lawyer. He’s my entertainment lawyer,” Quan shared. “When the producer of our movie was trying to make my deal, he said he would never imagine that he would have to talk to Chunk to get Data (Quan’s character in “The Goonies”) to be in his movie.”
To prepare for his demanding role in which he plays three versions of the same character, Quan shared that he hired an acting coach, a dialogue coach, a voice coach and a body-movement coach.
“He’d pick different animals for me to practice as,” the 51-year-old actor explained regarding the latter. “One was a squirrel. I watched countless videos of nothing but squirrels on YouTube. I was on all fours trying to move like a squirrel.”
When Sandler asked if Cohen got him a good deal, Quan responded with, “Jeff is an outstanding lawyer.”
Quan, who won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture on Tuesday, is set to see action next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series “Loki” for Disney Plus.
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