Ke Huy Quan over the moon after Oscar nomination: 'It’s a dream that only existed in my imagination'

Ke Huy Quan is now officially an Oscar nominee. The actor couldn't hide his joy after being nominated for best supporting actor for his perofmance as Waymond Wang in Everything Everywhere All At Once." Quan opened up about the film's 11 nominations with The Hollywood Reporter, while on a Zoom call with co-star Michelle Yeoh, directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, and others. He spoke about the film's message of kindness, why it connected with viewers, and how it feels to be finally recognized. The film industry and the people on the web are thrilled to bits with Quan's Oscar nomination because he is a compassionate person with gratitude towards his art besides being a versatile actor. 

"When I heard my name announced, I jumped and I screamed so loud. It was very similar to the day when I got that call from my agent and, they told me that I get to play the role of Waymond. I just cannot believe it. For so many years, I’ve always loved watching the Oscars. Every year, I would imagine what it’s like to walk down the red carpet, to be in that room, to get nominated", said a laughing Quan who played the character of Waymond, the husband of Michelle Yeoh in the movie, "Everything Everywhere All At Once." He further described his happiness by saying, "It’s a dream that only existed in my imagination for the longest time. When I had to step away, that dream dissipated. It was so far away that I didn’t think one day it would make its way back. And it did. And it happened today. I never thought that my name would have the prefix 'Oscar-nominated actor.' What an incredible day this is.'"

According to The New York Times, Quan was popular for his early acting movies such as "The Goonies" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," but he abruptly decided to quit acting for decades after he discovered how difficult it was for Asian actors to get a movie role. Quan considered having a comeback after watching  “Crazy Rich Asians” in 2018, after requesting a friend who is an agent to represent him, Quan landed a role in "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and went on his first audition in years. Now he's an Oscar nominee alongside co-stars, Michelle Yeoh, and Stephanie Hsu. This is probably the first time in history that so many Asian actors have been nominated in the same year. 

"This is a big moment not just for us and our movie, but for the entire AAPI community. For the longest time, you don’t see a lot of Asian actors get nominated. In fact, in the best-supporting category, the last Asian actor was nominated, and won, for his role in 'The Killing Fields' in 1984. It feels so great for us to have the 11 nominations, and get all these acting nominations. I hope that this is the beginning of more to come. I hope that our entire community sees this and sees this is possible moving forward. That’s why representation is so important," said Quan, cherishing the historic moment. Quan also talked about his speech in "EEAAO", which is about kindness. “Please be kind” — those three words are so simple yet so powerful," he added. 

"That’s one of the reasons why our movie resonated with people. It’s the message. It’s about being kind, having empathy for one another, and showing each other love. We all can do this. If we just let ourselves be a little kinder to one another, to show each other a little more love, this world would be in a much, much better place. We would not have any of these horrible things that happen every day. There would be less hatred, people would be happier..." 

Here's to hoping that more films with powerful messages of kindness and empathy like "Everything Everywhere All At Once" make it to the Oscars every year!