Oscar Sunday with Actor Ke Huy Quan

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Lemonada Media

Society & Culture, Film Interviews, Tv & Film

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

To celebrate Oscar Sunday, we return to our talk with actor Ke Huy Quan!

At the top, he reflects on the making of A24’s Everything Everywhere All At Once (3:35), growing up in Vietnam (6:36), and his family’s perilous journey to Los Angeles in the late seventies (7:33). Then, we walk through Ke’s breakout role in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (13:45), his pivot from acting to stunt choreography (24:20), and working under the tutelage of director Wong Kar-wai (25:38).

On the back half, Ke describes how Crazy Rich Asians reawakened a childhood dream (33:16) leading to both his momentous return to the screen (36:05) and a full circle moment on the set of Everything Everywhere All At Once (38:27). To close, we discuss Ke’s remarkable second act and what’s to come (48:03).

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Pushkin. This is talk easy. I'm San Frigoso. Welcome to the show. Today in honor of this year's Oscars, I wanted to return to our episode with Kihui Kwan.
0:48.8	We sat with the actor back in January in the throes of award season.
0:53.9	Since then, he's been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work in everything everywhere
0:58.8	all at once, directed by the Daniels.
1:02.2	The film is the prohibitive favorite to win best picture tonight,
1:05.6	and Kwan, for his part, seems poised to come home with a golden statue.
1:10.8	But today's conversation is not really about any of that. Instead, we talk about what
1:16.8	really matters to Key, like leaving Hong Kong for Los Angeles in 1979, his early success working under the direction of Stephen Spielberg on Indiana Jones,
1:28.0	the pain that followed as he struggled to find work as a Chinese American actor in Hollywood, the professional pivot that
1:35.4	saved his career, and the woman who saved his life.
1:39.9	A life that I hope is properly celebrated tonight during the Academy Awards Telecast.
1:46.8	As you'll hear in this conversation, the Flowers for Key and his work are long overdue and so with that whether you've already heard this
1:56.2	episode or are just finding it today I hope you enjoy this very special sit down
2:02.0	with the one and only, the inimitable, Kioy Kwan, nice to meet you.
2:22.6	Nice to meet you, Sam. Thank you for having me.
2:23.4	How are you feeling?
2:24.6	I feel amazing.
2:26.5	Really, did something good happen this year?
2:28.9	A lot of things going on or what?
2:32.0	You know, ever since a movie came out.
2:33.8	Oh, that, right.
2:35.6	Since I've been on a high, higher than Cloud 9.
	...

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