Back in 1984, Indiana Jones faced the perils of the Temple of Doom with his loyal sidekick, Short Round. Sadly, Shorty, as Indy liked to call him, only appeared in that one film. And after making Goonies and a handful of other projects, Shorty actor Ke Huy Quan pretty much retired from acting. Then this year, he came back in the amazing film Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, nearly 30 years after his last project. He also appeared at D23 Expo and reunited with Harrison Ford in a photo that melted our hearts.
Ke Huy Quan recently signed on to Loki season two, hence the trip to D23 Expo. His old pal Harrison Ford was also at the even to promote Indiana Jones 5. So after 38 years, the two actors reunited backstage, taking a photo that broke the internet. Ke Huy Quan opened up about how that photo became a reality in an interview with Variety. Here’s what he had to say on the emotional reunion:
So I walk out and I see him about 15 feet away talking to Phoebe Waller-Bridge, they’re there to promote Indy 5. And as I walk close, my heart is pounding. I’m thinking, ‘Is he gonna recognize me? The last time he saw me, I was a little kid. As I get closer, he turns and points his finger at me, and he has that classic, famous, grumpy Harrison Ford look. I go, ‘Oh my gosh, he probably thinks I’m a fan and he’s gonna tell me to not come near him.’ But 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.
Yes, that is the sound of our collective hearts melting. When you can get a grin that big out of grumpy grandpa Harrison, you know you’re a quality human. The only sad thing about all this? We wish Indiana Jones 5 had an Indy and Short Round reunion scene of some kind. We’d like to think Shorty followed in his mentor’s footsteps. It’s not too late to make that happen, is it James Mangold? The movie doesn’t come out until next year. Well, if that doesn’t happen there, both actors are in the Marvel Universe now, right? We see a few possibilities here.
