Oscar winnerKe Huy Quanaddresses being mistaken for Jackie Chan. The Vietnam-born talent started his career as a child actor in the 1980s, getting his debut role asShort Round in 1984’sIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. From there, Quan also had a prominent role playing Data inThe Gooniesbefore stepping out of the public eye for several years. His big comeback role was inEverything Everywhere All At Once,which won Best Picture andearned Quan a win for Best Supporting Actor.
In an interview withWIRED, Quan discussed being mistaken for Chan. The question came about in aWIRED"Autocomplete Interview," where he was in the hot seat to address commonly Googled questions about himself. One of the commonly Googled phrases said “Ke Huy Quan and Jackie Chan.” Laughing,the actor explained how he is constantly mistaken for Chan. In a gracious response, Quan recounted how important Chan was to him when he was growing up. Check out the full quote from Quan below:
Ke Huy Quan and Jackie Chan. You’re not going to believe this but everywhere I go, people think I am Jackie Chan. I love Jackie Chan, I’m a big fan of his. When I was a kid, I loved watching his movies. They inspired me to learn martial arts. I love the action genre. It has a lot to do with him and his brothers, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. And so I don’t mind it, I think I take it as a compliment. But it also means that I need to work a lot harder. Because one day, I want people to say ‘That’s Ke Huy Quan’ not ‘that guy looks like Jackie Chan!’
What This Means For Ke Huy Quan
Chan’s Early Work Came At A Formative Time For Quan
Quan provides a characteristically gracious response to what has likely been a fairly racially charged assumption over the years. While Chan and Quan are both East Asian-born, they are not from the same nations. Quan was born in Vietnam, while Chan was a Hong Kong-born star who started acting inChinese-language contentin his youth.The actors are also nearly two decades apart in age, making their comparisons seem even more like a racial stereotype.
Jackie Chan’s 10 Highest-Grossing Movies, Ranked
A beloved and influential staple of Hollywood and Hong Kong cinema, Jackie Chan boasts an array of commercially successful movies to his name.
However, Quan’s quote emphasizes that he does not interpret these lookalike statements as insulting. Rather, he “take[s] it as a compliment.” There are not many Asian actors working in Hollywood, but Chan is among one of the most influential and longest-standing. As a former child actor,Chan would have been acting in some of his most notable early filmsby the time Quan was coming of age, and tuning in. As such, it makes sense that Chan’s work would have been so influential on Quan, motivating him to become a better actor when the two have been mistaken for one another.
Our Take On Ke Huy Quan’s Jackie Chan Mix-Up Response
Quan Is Advancing In His Career
The Chan and Quan confusion is, I think, reflective of just how underrepresented the Asian and Asian-American community is in Hollywood. Movies likeEverything Everywhere All At Onceand 2018’sCrazy Rich Asiansare working to change this narrative, but there is still a long way to go. Quan is forging his own career, recently getting his first leading action role inthe movieLove Hurts.This film struggled at the box office, but its existence is still a step in the right direction towards representation andQuanbeing known as something more than one who “looks like Jackie Chan.”
Ke Huy Quan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and filmmaker known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts. He gained international fame through films likePolice StoryandRush Hour, blending action and humor, and is celebrated for his contributions to martial arts cinema.
