Ke Huy Quan has defended Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom amid accusations that the 1984 film was racist.
Quan played Short Round in the sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, which had been accused of deploying the white saviour trope.
Speaking to The Guardian, Quan said the film was made in “a different time”, explaining why it needs to be viewed with that context in mind.
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“We’re talking about something that was done almost 40 years ago. It was a different time,” he said. “It’s so hard to judge something so many years later. I have nothing but fond memories. I really don’t have anything negative to say about it.”
Related: Indiana Jones TV spinoff in the works at Disney+
The actor, who is being tipped for awards success for his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, described Short Round as “groundbreaking”, praising Temple of Doom director Steven Spielberg for his inclusive casting.
“Spielberg was the first person to put an Asian face in a Hollywood blockbuster. Short Round is funny, he’s courageous, he saves Indy’s ass,” he said. “[Asian representation] was a rarity then. For many years after that, we were back to square one.”
The actor recently reunited with Harrison Ford, his Indy co-star, at Disney’s D23 Expo, posing for an affectionate photo.
Related: Indiana Jones 5 composer talks Phoebe Waller-Bridger music
Describing the lovely moment, Quan, who also starred in The Goonies, said he was “transported back” to 1984 as he saw Ford, with the “wonderful memories flooding back”.
“As I get closer, he turns and points his finger at me, and he has that classic, famous grumpy Harrison Ford look,” he said of the moment. “But he looks and points at me and says: 'Are you Short Round?'”
“Immediately, I was transported back to 1985, when I was a little kid, and I said: 'Yes, Indy'. And he said: 'Come here', and gave me a big hug. When I wrapped my arms around him, all those wonderful memories I had on the set came flooding back. It felt so comfortable. It was amazing, and he's an amazing man – one of the most generous men on the planet."
Quan won’t be returning for the fifth film in the Indiana Jones franchise, which is due to be released on June 23, 2023.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
