“I Grew Up In A Family Where We Don’t Share Emotions”: Ke Huy Quan Revealed Why He Thanked His Mother In His Oscars Acceptance Speech
buzzfeed.com
4 min read
"I Grew Up In A Family Where We Don’t Share Emotions": Ke Huy Quan Revealed Why He Thanked His Mother In His Oscars Acceptance Speech,"It was in the middle of the night [when] my dad and five of my other siblings escaped on a boat."
“I Grew Up In A Family Where We Don’t Share Emotions”: Ke Huy Quan Revealed Why He Thanked His Mother In His Oscars Acceptance Speech
It’s been impossible to talk about Ke Huy Quan’s historic success from his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once without mentioning his decades-long acting hiatus due to a lack of opportunity for Asian actors. Now, in an interview with Variety, Ke Huy addressed his journey himself, from fleeing Vietnam as a child to what was going on in his head during the Oscars.
Variety / Via youtube.comAccording to Vietnamese Boat People, a non-profit that aims to preserve the stories of the Vietnamese diaspora, “Between 1975 to 1992, almost two million Vietnamese risked their lives to flee oppression and hardship after the Vietnam War, in one of the largest mass exoduses in modern history. Escaping by boat, many found freedom in foreign land, many were captured and brutally punished, and many did not survive the journey.”
“I was just a normal kid when I was in Vietnam. All of a sudden, my parents decided to flee Vietnam, and I didn’t understand why or what was happening,” Ke Huy said, before revealing that one night, he, his father, and five of his siblings escaped on a boat to Hong Kong.
Variety / Via youtube.comKe Huy’s mother and three other siblings separately escaped to Malaysia.
Ke Huy lived in a refugee camp in Hong Kong — “surrounded by guards and police officers,” he described — until the United States granted his entire family political asylum. He then got on a plane for the first time and landed in Los Angeles.
Variety / Via youtube.comHis parents’ decision to flee Vietnam would ultimately change Ke Huy’s life, allowing him to be cast in a Hollywood movie and go on to win an Oscar — something he didn’t understand until he was older. “I realized what my parents have done for us, and I always wanted to thank them, for a long time, but I grew up in a family where we just don’t share that kind of emotion with each other,” Ke Huy said.
For that reason, Ke Huy publicly thanked his mother during his Oscars acceptance speech. “I wanted the world to know how much my parents mean to me,” he said, noting that doing so on the biggest stage felt amazing.
Kevin Winter / Getty ImagesKe Huy’s willingness to openly talk about his journey touched others:
Variety / Via youtube.comSome shared their own stories in turn, while others expressed pride in his accomplishments:
Variety / Via youtube.comLater, Ke Huy also revealed he feels immense gratitude for Indiana Jones creator George Lucas, director Steven Spielberg, and star Harrison Ford — the latter of whom presented him and the cast of EEAAO with the Oscar for Best Picture in an iconic, headline-making moment.
Variety / Via youtube.comWhile Ke Huy knew Harrison would be presenting at the Oscars, he didn’t know which category he’d be presenting. However, having him present EEAAO with the award for Best Picture made the win even more special for Ke Huy.
Variety / Via youtube.com“When I ran up on stage and gave him a hug, I just couldn’t help myself,” he said. “I just want to shower [Harrison] with all my love — the way I wanted to shower my love for Steven — because these two men, along with George Lucas, have given me so, so, so much.”
Bryn Colton / Getty Images“I could not believe I gave Harrison Ford a big kiss on the cheek,” he added.
Top: Variety | Bottom: Kevin Winter / Getty Images / Via youtube.comThough he grapples with the fear that history will repeat itself — that EEAAO will be another one-time thing like his success with Indiana Jones or The Goonies — Ke Huy acknowledged how amazing it feels to see a different landscape in Hollywood in which Asian actors have a seat at the table.
Variety / Via youtube.com“I’m so grateful to all those people who came before me — all the struggles that they faced. I can see them laying one brick at a time, paving the road for all of us to be here,” he said, also expressing optimism for future Asian actors.
Axelle / FilmMagicIn the end, Ke Huy concluded, “I’m just so thankful for all those people that asked for change and contributed to those changes and created all those opportunities for us to be here.”
Variety / Via youtube.comNow, can we all agree that Ke Huy is so precious and pure? So much gratitude for those in his life, from his parents to the cast and crew of Indiana Jones and more. Protect this man at all costs, people.
Catch Ke Huy’s full conversation — in which he also talks about his own fears as an actor and the advice Cate Blanchett gave him on picking roles — here:
View this video on YouTube
Related News & Content
-
How to optimize ‘select found_rows()’ query? Several ‘high load average’ alerts daily
How to optimize 'select found_rows()' query? Several 'high load average' alerts daily,I have 5,000 regular posts, 6,000 posts in one post type and 2,000 posts in another post type. Needless to say, that has made the wp_posts table quite large. Not to mention, I have custom taxonomie... -
How to Use JSON With AJAX?
How to Use JSON With AJAX?,I've defined a PHP callback function to handle the communication between server-side and client-side: function json_render_modal_body() { check_ajax_referer( THEME_PREFIX . '-modals', 'nonce'... -
Filtering context for render_block function
Filtering context for render_block function,I am trying to use render_block within a function called from the WP admin via AJAX The render_block returns null/empty however if I run my function using the wp hook returns the rendered HTML for ... -
How do I hide submenus from the top menu bar?
How do I hide submenus from the top menu bar?,My website is wiki-style and has a lot of pages that should only be reached through links on other pages. Having these all accessible from the top menu bar under their respective headings leads you... -
Register users without confirmation
Register users without confirmation,I'm looking to register users without requiring confirmation of their emails (and even better, no password when they register). Basically, I want them to subscribe their mails using wp registration -
How to use AJAX in wordpress front end?
How to use AJAX in wordpress front end?,I have two inputs in an HTML Widget block on a post. What I need to do: send the inputs (from the html widget) value to AJAX, construct and execute a query, render a table with the results back on ... -
Display posts from Custom Post Type, group by term, arrange term groups and arrange items within groups by menu order
Display posts from Custom Post Type, group by term, arrange term groups and arrange items within groups by menu order,I have a Custom Post Type 'my_cpt' and a custom taxonomy 'types' which has several terms, all of which have posts. I want to do is be able to control both the order of the groups (terms from my cus... -
How do I know if the custom theme is a child theme or a full-custom theme?
How do I know if the custom theme is a child theme or a full-custom theme?,Inherited a custom built WordPress site. How do I know if the theme it uses is a child theme or a full-custom theme? I would like to delete the unused themes for security and to free up space, but ... -
getEntityRecords/useEntityRecords: How to use CPT metadata?
getEntityRecords/useEntityRecords: How to use CPT metadata?,I use getEntityRecords as described in the official data API tutorial (https://learn.wordpress.org/lesson/retrieving-wordpress-data-records/). I.e.: const [searchTerm, setSearchTerm] = useState... -
Carol Kirkwood stuns in figure-hugging dress amid BBC Breakfast technical chaos
Carol Kirkwood stuns in figure-hugging dress amid BBC Breakfast technical chaos,CAROL Kirkwood stunned in a figure-hugging dress amid a technical blunder. BBC Breakfast was flung into chaos this morning after a string of sound issues. However Carol, 61, was all smiles as she p… -
Families ‘to sue prison’ where loud inmates ‘terrorise kids’ with screaming
Families 'to sue prison' where loud inmates 'terrorise kids' with screaming,Residents living next door to a new prison who say their kids have to sleep wearing headphones and some leave during weekends due to the racket are threatening to sue the prison service -
Doctor Strange’s Secret Wars Role May Be More Important Than You Thought – Looper
Doctor Strange's Secret Wars Role May Be More Important Than You Thought - Looper,According to entertainment leaker Alex Perez, Doctor Strange will find himself confronting his inner struggles as he headlines "Avengers: Secret Wars." -
Blondshell and Bully Team Up For New Single “Docket”
Blondshell and Bully Team Up For New Single “Docket”,Blondshell has teamed up with Alicia Bognanno of Bully for the newly released single "Docket." Listen to the track here. -
I’m a clown for not trying Korean beauty secret for glowy skin sooner – don’t worry, I’m not putting cheese on my face
I’m a clown for not trying Korean beauty secret for glowy skin sooner – don’t worry, I’m not putting cheese on my face,A BEAUTY influencer has regrets about not trying out Korean beauty advice for glowy skin sooner. Although the trick can look a little strange at first, she assured viewers that she was not putting … -
‘We are at risk’ – health expert in urgent warning for Irish people over Easter
‘We are at risk’ - health expert in urgent warning for Irish people over Easter,AN URGENT warning has been released to those jetting off over the Easter break. With measles already on the rise, there is an increased risk of a more widespread outbreak in the coming weeks. Trave… -
Black Holes Are Even Weirder Than You Imagined
Black Holes Are Even Weirder Than You Imagined,It’s now thought that they could illuminate fundamental questions in physics, settle questions about Einstein’s theories, and even help explain the universe. -
The odd history of on-hold music
The odd history of on-hold music,We've all been put on hold when we've tried to reach someone. Have you ever thought about the music that plays while you wait? -
‘What Jennifer Did’: Netflix doc explores shocking Ont. murder-for-hire case
'What Jennifer Did': Netflix doc explores shocking Ont. murder-for-hire case,Most of Jennifer Pan's entire life was made up of lies. When her parents began to catch on, she decided to bring in hired hitmen. -
Martin Scorsese to Spearhead Doc Series on Christian Saints for Fox Nation
Martin Scorsese to Spearhead Doc Series on Christian Saints for Fox Nation,Martin Scorsese signed a deal with Fox Nation to host and executive produce an eight-episode docudrama titled 'Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints.' -
Man Accusing CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp of Sexual Assault Was Paid $480,000: Report
Man Accusing CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp of Sexual Assault Was Paid $480,000: Report,The GOP strategist who accused Matt Schlapp of sexual assault last year reportedly received a hefty financial settlement to drop his lawsuit against the CPAC chairman.
