Ke Huy Quan Says Oscar Speech Was A Chance To ‘Publicly’ Thank Her Refugee Parents
After his big Oscar win on Sunday, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Ke Huy Quan looks back on his early life as a refugee fleeing Vietnam – a journey that will ultimately put him on the path to Hollywood history.
Speaking to Variety the day after the ceremony, Quan, who won Best Supporting Actor, shared how his family fled after the Vietnam War. Quan said at the time he didn’t understand why his parents felt it was necessary to leave.
“I was a normal kid in Vietnam and all of a sudden my parents decided to flee. … It was the middle of the night. My father and five of my other siblings escaped on a boat” , said Quan, who was 7 when his family left. “We arrived in Hong Kong and all of a sudden I found myself in a refugee camp surrounded by guards and police.”
Quan, who is only the second Asian to win in his Oscar category, said his family stayed in the refugee camp for a year before being granted political asylum and traveling to the United States.
In his interview with Variety, he explained that he had wanted to thank his family for their decision to flee for some time. Her Oscar acceptance speech turned out to be the perfect outlet.
“I grew up in a family where we just don’t share our emotions with each other,” he said. “Last night I wanted to do it publicly. I wanted the world to know how much my parents meant to me. To do this on the biggest stage was amazing.
Quan explained that shortly after his family moved to the United States, he found fame with his role as Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, launching his career in the entertainment industry.
“As fate would have it, four years later I landed a job at Indiana Jones that changed my life,” Quan said.
During his acceptance speech, he told the crowd that his “journey started on a boat.”
“And somehow I ended up here on the biggest stage in Hollywood. They say stories like this only happen in movies,” Quan said. can’t believe this is happening to me. It’s the American dream.”
For Quan, the Oscars wrapped up a hugely successful awards season for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Waymond Wang, a passionate husband who helps save the multiverse while trying to keep his failing marriage and family together. He previously won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, becoming the first Asian to win in the category. Earlier in the year, he won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and Gotham Awards, among others.