Ke Huy Quan goes adorably wild over ‘Indiana Jones’ costar Harrison Ford at 2023 Oscars

Indy and Short Round were together again on Hollywood’s biggest night. How could you not cry?

Ke Huy Quan‘s acting career has come full circle.

Decades after he first broke into Hollywood with his role as sidekick Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Quan won Best Supporting Actor at the 2023 Oscars for his comeback role in Every­­thing Everywhere All at Once. As it happens, when the film went on to win Best Picture as well at the end of the night, the award was presented by none other than Indiana Jones himself, Harrison Ford.

Needless to say, no sooner did Quan take the stage alongside his castmates and directors than he waved Ford over and happily embraced his original costar.

Later, after the hubbub died down and Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel was saying his goodbyes to the Dolby Theatre audience and viewers at home, Quan went back over to chat with Ford. He brought with him EEAO co-director Daniel Kwan, who excitedly shook Ford’s hand.

Quan previously ran into Ford at last year’s D23 Expo, producing an adorable Instagram photo. Quan said at the time that he wasn’t sure Ford would recognize him since “the last time he saw me, I was a little kid.” But as soon as Quan approached Ford, he recalled, “He looks and points at me and says, ‘Are you Short Round?’ Immediately, I was transported back to 1984, when I was a little kid, and I said, ‘Yes, Indy.’ And he said, ‘Come here,’ and gave me a big hug.”

Ford wasn’t the only Oscars attendee who’s had a front-row seat to Quan’s whole career. While Quan was giving his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor on Sunday night, the telecast briefly cut to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom director Steven Spielberg smiling in the audience.

Speaking to reporters backstage after his win, Quan noted that during one of the commercial breaks, “I ran up to Steven Spielberg and he gave me a big hug, and he put his arms around me and he said, ‘Ke, you are now an Oscar-winning actor.’ And hearing him say that meant the world to me, and I still cannot believe it. I mean, wow.”

Meanwhile, both Quan and Ford are set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the near future, with Quan playing an as-yet-undisclosed role in Loki season 2 and Ford taking over the role of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts. That means there’s a possibility viewers could see them together on screen again.

Hey, if there’s one takeaway from this year’s ceremony, it’s to never give up on your dreams.

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