Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan reflected on sharing his emotions with his parents “on the biggest stage” Sunday following his family’s efforts to flee Vietnam in the ’70s.
Quan’s emotional Best Supporting Actor acceptance speech for his role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won over viewers as he likened his journey to “the American dream” and proudly displayed his Oscar for his 84-year-old mother to see as she watched from home.
Quan, in a post-Oscars interview with Variety, looked back at growing up as a child in Vietnam, describing his parents’ sudden decision to flee the country.
“I didn’t understand why or what was happening. All I knew was I was separated from my mom, from my little brother and a couple of my sisters. It was in the middle of the night when my dad, five of my siblings and I escaped in a boat,” he explained.
“We got to Hong Kong, and I was in a refugee camp surrounded by guards and police officers for an entire year until we were granted political asylum. Then I got on a plane, for the first time, and landed in Los Angeles,” he said of his arrival in 1979.
Quan told the publication he “didn’t have the maturity to process the sacrifices” his parents made for a better future.
He added that fate had it that he’d land a role in the 1984 film “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” starring Harrison Ford, who hugged Quan as he and his “Everything Everywhere All at Once” cast celebrated their Best Picture win.
Quan’s role in the film has earned him a Golden Globe, an Independent Spirit Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well.
The actor, whose father died in 2001, said he always wanted to thank his parents for their decision and finally got the chance to do so on Sunday.
“I grew up in a family where we just don’t share our emotions with each other. Last night, I wanted to do that publicly,” said Quan, who is the second Asian winner of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
“I wanted the world to know how much my parents meant to me. So to be able to do that on the biggest stage, that felt amazing.”
You can watch more of his conversation with Variety below and read more from his interview here.