From Hugh Jackman to Harrison Ford to Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan has worked with some of the industry’s top A-listers
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Ke Huy Quan; Hugh Jackman
Ke Huy Quan learned a lot during his 20 year break from acting. One of the skills acquired, he says, was working with A-list stars – and making them ‘look good’.
“When I worked as an action choreographer,” the Vietnamese-American star, 54, tells PEOPLE, “one of my responsibilities was to train actors to throw a punch or a kick and make them look good in the screen. ”
That includes Hugh Jackmanwho worked with Quan on the 2000 Marvel Comics adaptationX Men. When the two ‘reunited’ on July 25 Star Ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for producer Kevin Feigehe says, they reminisced about the film that would help bring superhero films into the mainstream.
“It was so beautiful,” the Oscar winner says, smiling. “I love him so much.”
Related: Ke Huy Quan urges Josh Brolin to name his favorite Goonies Costar in Surprise Reunion Moment
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(Left-right:) Shawn Levy, Louis D’Esposito, Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Kathryn Hahn, Ke Huy Quan, David Harbour, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Simu Liu, Chris Pratt and Brie Larson during the ceremony honoring Feige with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 25
In the two decades before he made a triumphant comeback in the 2022 hitEverything everywhere at onceQuan – which first broke out in 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and 1985 The Goonies – struggled to land roles as an adult, but instead found work behind the camera as an action choreographer and assistant director.
“I didn’t know that all those years of working and taking action were actually preparing me,” he tells PEOPLE. “I learned from the best.”
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Now that he’s playing a leading roleAmerican-born Chinese And Loki season 2 next to Everything everywhereQuan has an impressive list of costars. “I secretly learned from it Harrison FordHugh Jackman, Tom Hiddleston, Jamie Lee Curtis And Michelle Yeoh‘ he rattles.
Filming the upcoming action comedyLove hurts (in theaters Feb. 7, 2025), Quan got the chance to use everything he learned from those industry legends. “I tried to bring to the set what they brought when they were number one,” he says.
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Ke Huy Quan in ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom’
“I have been fortunate to work with great actors and performers who are kind and humble and very giving. And so when I stepped on set as the lead in this film, I wanted to make sure that everyone feels welcome and motivated to do their best work and treat everyone as if we were one big family,” he continues. “Everything I learned from them, from Harrison, from Hugh, from Tom, from Michelle and Jamie.”
Related: Ryan Reynolds was impressed by Hugh Jackman’s ‘Sheer Relentlessness’ Deadpool and Wolverine Set (exclusive)
Another lesson Quan has learned throughout his ever-growing career came from a cinematic legend that not many can claim was their first director. “I remember the very first time I heard a filmmaker say, ‘I always make a film with the audience in mind.’ And that was it Steven Spielberg.”
Love hurtsstarring Ariana DeBoseDaniel Wu and Marshawn Lynch, will be in theaters on February 7, 2025. Quan will also appear in the films of Joe and Anthony RussoThe electrical condition (on Netflix March 14, 2025), voice a character Zootopia 2 (in theaters Nov. 26, 2025) and stars in action thriller Fairy tale in New York.