After 40 years in Hollywood,Ke Huy Quanis no stranger to getting knocked around, literally and figuratively.
Then, after a decades-long drought on the big screen, action movies improbably came calling.
The role won him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
You have to sell it.
Here, Quan reflects on how he navigated tough times to live to fight another day.
My parents were heroes.
A lot of people make a run at be like everybody else.
My advice is to embrace your own identity.
What about the worst?Success came so easily that you expect everything in life would be that easy.
Of course, life is never that easy.
As you get older, you realize how lucky you are.
I learned a lot of my approaches to things from watching how he treated everybody on set.
You dont have to be an asshole.
What lessons did you learn from Harrison Ford?Hes incredibly giving as an actor.
Theres a total of 11 of us.
When we first moved here to the United States, we rented this little house.
That was a proud moment for me.
Some people answer that question with a car or expensive jewelry.I dont make those kinds of purchases.
I think its the way I was brought up.
Chinese people are pretty good with their money.
Everywhere you go, you get recognized.
It changed how I lived my life a little bit.
This time around, Im much more comfortable in my own identity and my own skin.
I approach it with a huge sense of gratitude.
Does it bother you when people ask you to take selfies with them?No, I love it.
Everybody loves it when theyre being appreciated.
So when they ask for a selfie, it brings a smile to my face.
And I have been asking for selfies a lot myself over the last couple of years, shamelessly.
I thought there was something wrong with me.
Looking back, it was a blessing.
You get wiser when you have more difficulties and appreciate it more when you finally do achieve success.
As time went on, your doubt begins to increase.
That gave me tremendous hope to carry on.
There are more opportunities, too, because of streaming platforms.
Hollywood has grown so much.
I also understand how fortunate I am today to have this again.
Your character inEverything Everywhere All at Oncelives in multiple universes.
What do you gotta play a multifaceted character like that?Life experience.
you’re gonna wanna live enough life outside your characters.
That depth carries into the way I approach roles now.
It taught me that acting isnt just about technique; its about connecting to something real.
You cant fake that.
In your recent movies, you pull off incredible martial-arts scenes.
How do you do that at 53?I do tae kwon do.
to make it do kicks and punches, you have to be very flexible.
I do a lot of stretching.
Thats how you prevent yourself from getting hurt.
As Ive gotten older, I realized its not as easy.
So I have to stay flexible.
I grew up watching a lot of action movies.
I love this genre.
But the main character usually looked more like the Rock, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Jason Statham.
So the idea of that element of surprise really intrigued me.
You worked with former NFL star Marshawn Lynch on that movie.
What did you learn from him?Never judge a book by its cover.
He calls his mother every day, multiple times a day.
I gotta go.
And he would hang up and get right back into character.
It was just the sweetest thing to witness.
And physically, hes huge.
Hes got solid muscles.
To see how much he loves his family is inspiring.
But I recently loaned it to the Academy Museum.
So its going to be there on display.
I hope when people see it, they feel like whatever dreams they have can come true.
Whats been the best part of your comeback?For a long time, there was so much uncertainty.
Success gives you the luxury to step back and ask, Whats next?
instead of Whats possible?
