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“Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom” star Ke Huy Quan wants to return as Short Round in a spin-off.
On Tuesday, the Golden Globe-winning actor joined host Josh Horowitz on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. During their hour-long conversation, Quan revisited fond memories of filming the Steven Spielberg-directed “Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom.”
In the iconic 1984 adventure film, Quan made his film debut at the age of 12 as Indiana Jones’ (Harrison Ford) sidekick Short Round, who has a notable comedic role and saves Jones’ life multiple times.
“The entire experience was amazing,” the Vietnamese American actor, who is now 51, began. “I have nothing but fond memories of that shoot and that is also one of the reasons why I love acting so much.”
“Being on the set with Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas is incredible,” Quan continued. “To this day, I love these 3 men.”
Horowitz then asked if Quan would be willing to return to the role.
“Short Round Disney Plus show. How is this going to happen? Are you in? Where is Short Round today?,” the podcast host asked.
Amidst his laughter, Quan confessed, “I love the character Short Round. He is so awesome, He’s funny. He’s courageous. He saves Indy’s ass.”
“If Disney or Lucasfilm ever come[s] to me and say, ‘You know, we want to do a Short Round spin-off or challenge,’ I’m there, man,” the actor confirmed.
“It would just be incredible to revisit that character many years later.”
Quan also spoke about how his acting career slowed into a hiatus as “the roles got smaller and opportunities got fewer.”
“It was a gradual decline,” the actor stated. “I would wait for another year before I would get another opportunity to audition. Forget about getting a job.”
“What was painful for me was … my family,” Quan revealed with tears in his eyes.
After auditioning and getting rejected for an Asian role with just two lines, Quan decided it was time to step away from the world of acting.
“I was just wasting my time,” the actor stated.
However, upon receiving the script for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Quan described his initial reaction as “elated.”
“It was a script that I waited to read for a long long time,” he expressed. “When they offered me the role, I could not believe it. It was like beyond anything that I could have ever imagined.”
See the full interview below:
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