Ke Huy Quan has opened up about his long struggle with rejection while discussing his new memoir, Never Say Die. The 55-year-old actor described writing the book as “one of the most difficult things that I’ve ever had to do.”
Ke Huy Quan shares the difficult story behind his years of rejection and eventual Hollywood comeback in Never Say Die
Speaking to People about his new book, which hits shelves on September 15, the actor said, “When I set out to write this book, this was unintentional, but it ended up being the unabridged version of my Oscar speech.”
Quan rose to fame as a child actor during the 1980s. He played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984. A year later, he appeared as Data in The Goonies. After stepping away from acting for years, Quan made an emotional comeback in Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2022. His performance in the film earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2023.
While receiving the award, Quan looked back on his family’s difficult journey from South Vietnam to a refugee camp in Hong Kong before eventually settling in Los Angeles when he was 8. He also revealed that repeated rejection after his major roles almost made him give up on acting.
Quan now shares, “I never thought I’d be in a position to inspire anyone. If I can play a small, small role in helping to make people’s lives better or to help people’s dreams [come] alive or to help anyone through a difficult time, that would make this entire journey really memorable and meaningful for me.” He said revisiting some of his early years was very difficult. He admitted that he thought about giving up many times while writing the memoir. However, he noted the irony that the book is titled Never Say Die and said he ultimately kept going, taking the process one step at a time.
Among his upcoming projects, Quan will return as the voice of Gary De’Snake in Zootopia 3. While Disney has confirmed that the film is in development, the studio has not announced an official release date.
