These days, it’s impossible to imagine Indiana Jones movie The Temple of Doom without Ke Huy Quan as Short Round. But in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the Everything Everywhere All At Once actor, who won his first Academy Award last night, explained how he never actually intended to audition for his now-iconic part in the adventure movie, and was initially only attending the audition to support his brother.
“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,” he recalled.
“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,” the science fiction movie actor added.
“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 into 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 adventure of my life.”
If you’re desperate for more of Indy’s adventures, you don’t have to wait too long. There’s a new movie with Harrison Ford returning as the character this year, and lucky for you, we put together an explainer on everything you need to know about the Indiana Jones 5 release date.