SINGAPORE – After winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022), former child star Ke Huy Quan is stepping into uncharted territory as the lead in Love Hurts, an action comedy that marks a full-circle moment in his remarkable career journey.
Known for his roles in Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984) and The Goonies (1985), his acting career faded after those early successes, leading him to work behind the scenes in stunts until his recent dramatic comeback with the award-winning comedy-drama film.
Now, at 53, he is thrilled to be where he is. On Feb 3, he was honoured at a hand-and-footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
“On a professional level, it has been incredible. So many doors have opened. A lot of wonderful film-makers and producers that I love have reached out and want to work with me. I mean, look at Love Hurts – my first leading role in a major studio picture,” Quan tells journalists at a virtual conference on Feb 2 about his latest project.
Actor Ke Huy Quan at a hand-and-footprint ceremony at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on Feb 3. PHOTO: REUTERS
But the Vietnam-born American performer stung by Hollywood’s fickleness is not about to live the movie-star life yet.
“In my personal life, nothing has changed. I still live in the same house and drive the same car,” says Quan.
In Love Hurts, which opens in Singapore cinemas on Feb 6, Marvin Gable (Quan) is a gentle real-estate salesman with a solid reputation in Milwaukee.
One day, he receives a note from Rose (Ariana DeBose), a woman who knew him when he lived under another identity. In the past, he was a gangster working for his violent brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu).
Rose’s return leads to a showdown between Marvin and assassins sent by Knuckles. Over the Valentine’s Day period, Marvin must reckon with his criminal past and his former love Rose while trying to stop his middle-class facade from crumbling.
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