Ke Huy Quan has revealed that he still receives a Christmas present from Steven Spielberg every year.
The actor, who is most well-known for his role as Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, shared with The Guardian that he keeps in touch with the legendary director nearly 40 years later.
Not only that, but he's never forgotten on December 25.
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He told the outlet: “He gave me my first job and, so many years later, he has not forgotten me.
“Every time I needed help, he’s always there.”
After the Indiana Jones flick, Spielberg gave Quan his next major role in the 1985 classic film The Goonies.
However, after a string of successful films at the box office, Quan was hit with the grim reality of being an Asian American actor in Hollywood where he faced constant rejection and was pigeonholed for stereotypical roles.
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He also recalled how he didn’t land one single audition in an ‘entire year’.
While struggling to find work as an actor, Quan enrolled himself into film school at the University of Southern California.
After his studies, the actor went on to work as a stunt coordinator and assistant director.
While he was happy working behind the camera, the 51-year-old couldn’t ignore that there was something ‘missing’.
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However, once he watched the film Crazy Rich Asians, he was inspired to pursue his acting career again.
He said to The Guardian: “I noticed Asian actors were getting more opportunities, and I began to harbour this dream of getting back into acting, but it took a lot of courage to give voice to that dream. One day I decided: if I don’t do this, I will regret it.”
Since then, Quan has made an impressive comeback by appearing in the critically acclaimed film Everything Everywhere All At Once and will even star in the upcoming Disney+ series American Born Chinese, based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel.
He also told the Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M Chu, if he ever makes a sequel, he has to put him in it.
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When reflecting on his journey back to the big screen, Quan said: “For the longest time I was so insecure and always felt like I wasn’t good enough.”
He continued: “Every time I lost a job to somebody else, I thought: ‘That man deserves the job better than I did.’ Now I understand that everything needed to happen the way it did. Just don’t give up.”
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