Ke Huy Quan’s Golden Globes Acceptance Speech Broke Me
I have emotional whiplash.
The first award at this year’s Golden Globes came so quickly that I almost missed it.
Seriously, I have emotional whiplash from Jerrod Carmichael’s no-holds-barred opening monologue, to simply bursting into tears when Ke Huy Quan won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Ke Huy Quan accepting his award for Best Supporting Actor at the #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/XxrY0wsY8q
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) January 11, 2023
He kicked it off with a bang by saying he was raised to never forget where he came from, and pointed out Steven Spielberg in the crowd as a nod to his first role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom all the way back in 1984.
“I felt so very lucky to have been chosen. As I grew older, I started to wonder if that was it,” an emotional Quan continued. “For so many years, I was afraid I had nothing more to offer.”
And that’s about when I lost it.
In 2022, the Vietnamese-American actor talked a lot about how he stepped away from acting gigs because, frankly, there were no roles for Asian actors. It’s a painfully familiar experience for BIPOC who see the world changing, but not nearly fast enough.
“Thankfully, more than thirty years later, two guys thought of me… they gave me an opportunity to try again,” said Quan, referring to Everything Everywhere All At Once directors ‘The Daniels’ — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
Thank you, Ke Huy Quan, for coming back. We can’t wait for the rest of your second act.
Image credit: Rich Polk / Getty Images