Ke Huy Quan Credits Spielberg and Lucas for Life-Changing 'Profit-Sharing' Deal
The actor revealed an 'unheard of' contractual generosity from the filmmakers that significantly aided his family after his role in 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.'
Ke Huy Quan has shared that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas provided his family with an "unheard of" profit-sharing deal on his childhood role in the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Quan, who was 13 at the time of filming, explained that this gesture proved "life changing for our family at that time."
In his memoir, Never Say Die, Quan noted that receiving profit shares was uncommon for actors during that era, with only major stars typically benefiting. His family, who had fled Vietnam and spent time in a Hong Kong refugee camp before settling in Los Angeles, was heavily in debt and lacked a car when Quan secured the role.
Quan's mother entrusted the contract to an attorney in Los Angeles' Chinatown, who Quan believes specialized in immigration law and did not fully grasp the entertainment industry's nuances. The lawyer briefly reviewed the paperwork, unaware of the significant profit-sharing clause.
"Little did we know there was a paragraph in there that would change our lives when the movie came out," Quan told People magazine. "And that generous gesture that [Lucas and Spielberg] gave me was life-changing for our family at that time."
He recalled receiving a first royalty check for $100,000, a sum that was staggering for his family. "We didn’t have anything. My parents were heavily in debt. We didn’t even have a car," Quan said, recalling opening his first bank account with the funds.
Following his role as Short Round, Quan also appeared in the Spielberg-produced film The Goonies in 1985. After a hiatus from major roles, Quan experienced a significant career resurgence with the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Quan also shared an anecdote from the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, revealing that Spielberg would sometimes ask him to interact with Harrison Ford if Ford was in a difficult mood. Quan observed that Ford's demeanor would often soften when he engaged with the young actor.