Ke Huy Quan Recalls Landing Short Round Role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

In the sometimes confusing timeline of the Indiana Jones franchise, which is going to continue with the rumored time jumping of Indy 5, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was actually a prequel to the original Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the film, along with Harrison Ford’s intrepid archeologist, we met nightclub singer Willie Scott, played by Kate Capshaw, and 11-year-old Short Round, a tenacious and fast-mouthed sidekick for the often dour Jones to contend with. Actor Ke Huy Quan, who played the youngster in the movie, has recently recalled the odd audition that led to him getting the role.

While Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was the least well-received of the original Jones trilogy, with many not on board with the film’s darkness and gory, sacrificial violence – although these people seemingly had no similar issues with the horrifying opening of the Ark finale of the original movie – the film did provide a number of great moments, and many of those involved Indy’s little sidekick Short Round in one way or another. Of course, actor Quan would go on to play Data Wang in another classic 80s adventure The Goonies, and despite retiring in 2002 due to feeling there were no roles for Asian Americans, the actor has recently made a return to screens and appears in the new Jamie Curtis Multiverse movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

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While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Quan recalled how by tagging along with his brother to the audition, he was unexpectedly asked to audition himself. He explained:

“My little brother went to audition, I tagged along, and I was coaching him behind the camera, and the casting director saw me and asked me if I wanted to try. The next day, I got a call from Steven Spielberg’s office, and my mom heard ‘Hollywood’,’ heard ‘famous director,’ she thought it was a really fancy meeting. So she put me in this three-piece suit with a little gold chain hanging out of the side-pocket. So Steven came out, saw how uncomfortable I was, gave me the biggest hug, the warmest smile, and says, ‘Ke, I want you to come back the next day but wear something comfortable.’ And I went back the next day, I walked in the room, and there was Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford. And we spent an entire afternoon together, and three weeks later I was on a flight to Sri Lanka, and it was the best adventures of my life.”

Related: Here’s What Makes Indiana Jones One of the Most Iconic Movie Characters

Indiana Jones 5 Will Not See The Return of Short Round, But Still Has Plenty To Offer

Lucasfilm Ltd.

Although Quan seems to have found his place back in Hollywood recently, he will not be joining Harrison Ford on his final outing as Indiana Jones, even though it would have been good to see what the dynamic would have been with the character as an adult. However, despite having many setbacks, Indiana Jones 5, which is still to have its title revealed, is shaping up to see the adventurer go out with a bang.

Set photos have already given some teasing looks at the main cast filming the feature, which includes Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who also co-wrote the movie, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, and Toby Jones among others. Even though these images have shown train and motorbike stunts, Nazi flags, and hints at a de-aged Harrison Ford at least in some shots of the movie, there is still nothing officially known about the plot of the film.

Indiana Jones 5 was one of the movies that was given a hefty delay by Disney last year and is now not expected to arrive in cinemas until next summer, which means fans will still have a bit of a wait before they see a trailer for the film or any other details revealed.

About The Author

Anthony Lund
(1920 Articles Published)

Anthony Lund is an author, songwriter and puppeteer from a small village in the U.K. with an avid love of all genres of TV and film. As well as keeping up with the lastest entertainment news and writing about it for MovieWeb, he works as a video editor, voice over artist and production designer. A child of the 80s, he is the owner of almost 2000 books, more toys than his children, three Warner Bros. Store Gremlins and a production used Howard The Duck movie script.

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