Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan continues to write new chapters in his feel-good comeback story, and this latest one is as an action star in Jonathan Eusebio’s Love Hurts.
After a nearly two-decade hiatus from acting, Quan won an Oscar for his supporting role as Waymond Wang in Daniels’ best picture-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once. It was a storybook second chance for an actor who grew disillusioned with acting, opting to quit and enroll in USC’s film program. It wasn’t until watching 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians that he felt the urge to test the waters for any new opportunities.
In Love Hurts, Quan’s character, Marvin Gable is one of Milwaukee’s best realtors, and he, too, has also been enjoying his own second bite of the apple until his much darker past as a hitman comes back to haunt him. In the lead-up to his first go-round as a leading man in a major studio film, Quan and the producorial team were weighing the possibilities for the role of Cliff, Marvin’s realtor boss, and that’s when someone suggested a casting that would mark a 40-year reunion.
“When I heard one of the names, I said, ‘Oh my God, we have to make that happen!’” Quan tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of the February 2025 film’s first trailer. “I actually texted Sean [Astin] after production reached out to him, and I said, ‘Hey, buddy, it’s been 40 years since we’ve shared the screen together [in The Goonies]. It would be incredible to be able to do it again.’ And he didn’t respond!”
Apparently, Astin — who played the honorable Mikey opposite Quan’s ingenious Data in Richard Donner’s beloved 1985 adventure film — has a flair for the dramatic off-camera, as well.
“He didn’t respond to me, but he responded by saying yes to production and letting me find out about it that way,” Quan says mid-laugh. “So it was such a lovely surprise, and I think he was trying to keep the suspense.”
On the day of one of Astin’s scenes, Quan was joined by Jeff Cohen, his entertainment lawyer who brokered his Everything Everywhere deal, but his longtime friend was actually there to revisit his own past as a child actor in The Goonies. He played the overly confessional Chunk.
“When [Sean and I] did our scenes together, Jeff Cohen came to visit, so there were three Goonies together,” Quan shares. “It felt like it did as kids on the set of The Goonies.”
Following his USC graduation in 1999, Quan went to work for action director Corey Yuen on the set of X-Men (2000), serving as the assistant fight choreographer. That’s where he instructed Hugh Jackman, as Wolverine, something he brought up to Jackman recently at Kevin Feige’s Walk of Fame Ceremony. (Of course, the Australian star remembered.) Quan also has a martial arts background in taekwondo, so his commitment to Love Hurts hinged on being able to do all of his own fight choreography. Fittingly, Love Hurts director Eusebio is also a career-long stunt professional who’s now making his feature directorial debut, so Quan and Eusebio were bonded by their shared backgrounds. And together with producer David Leitch and his 87North action team, the Love Hurts brain trust put Quan through the wringer a la 87North’s previous work with the actors in Deadpool 2, Bullet Train, Nobody and The Fall Guy.
“When I said yes to this role, I said [to Leitch, Eusebio and the producers]: ‘If I’m going to do this, then there’s one thing that you’ve got to promise me. I want to be able to do all the fights myself,’” Quan says. “That was a big statement, and that was a statement that I didn’t know whether I could do. I was 53 years old at that time. We kept pushing the envelope until I was able to do everything myself … It was exhausting, mentally and physically, and I was bruised every single day when we were making this movie.”
When Quan heard his name announced at the 95th Academy Awards in 2023, he heard it through the tearful voice of Ariana DeBose, who’d won the year prior for her supporting work in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. After the ceremony, Quan and DeBose expressed their mutual desire to work with one another, and Quan quickly got his wish in Love Hurts, as DeBose plays Rose, Marvin’s former criminal associate that he left behind in pursuit of the straight and narrow. Naturally, the two actors also connected over the fact that Spielberg cast them in their respective major studio debuts, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and West Side Story.
“On the first day of shooting, I took a picture of us together, and I sent it to Steven, saying, ‘Steven, I’m doing a movie with Ari. We are your godchildren.’ And he really liked it,” Quan shares.
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Quan also discusses why he’s not quite ready to follow in Spielberg’s footsteps and make a semi-biographical film about his own life story.
I believe Love Hurts is the first time you’ve been a leading man in a major studio film. Have you been able to wrap your head around that yet?
Oh my gosh, I don’t think I’ll be able to wrap my head around it until the movie opens. Honestly, it’s incredible. For the longest time, I’ve loved the action genre. I really love action movies, and when I watch a good action movie, I always fantasize about being the action star. I put myself in their shoes and imagine being number one on the call sheet, and it finally happened, which is so incredible.
What else did Marvin Gable bring out of you that was unique from your past characters?
Marvin Gable is this affable real estate agent, and he just wants to be a normal guy who really enjoys the mundane life. He’s so passionate about helping people’s dream of owning a home come true, and you see it in his enthusiasm. And knowing that he has this ugly past, it’s also about redemption and second chances. I got this incredible second chance to be an actor again, and while playing Marvin, I understood where he was coming from and why he wanted to move forward. So it was incredible to bring some of my own story into this. It really was.
You’ve worked in stunts and fight choreography. You’re also a martial artist. So how much did that muscle memory help you when it came time for the rigorous 87North training?
When I said yes to this role, I said to the producers — David Leitch, Kelly McCormick, Guy Danella — and our director, Jonathan Eusebio: “If I’m going to do this, then there’s one thing that you’ve got to promise me. I want to be able to do all the fights myself.” That was a big statement, and that was a statement that I didn’t know whether I could do. I was 53 years old at that time. We shot this earlier this year. I also said, “If you agree, I would need all the help I can get.” So 87North put together this incredible team, and even though I have a martial arts background and the knowledge and the muscle memory, it was really about getting myself mentally and physically prepared for the role. So that was the biggest challenge, and I really didn’t know whether I could do it or not, but I was ready to try. I love watching ‘80s action movies from Hong Kong where you see Jackie Chan, Jet Li and all those action stars doing it themselves. So that’s what I wanted, and I said, “How do we do this?”
David Leitch also understood my capabilities and my knowledge, and so I went to the 87North headquarters to train with the guys every day. They would say, “Can you do this kick?” And once I could do it, they’d go, “Okay, great. Now let’s push it further. Let’s do more.” So we kept pushing the envelope until I was able to do everything myself, and that was an incredible challenge. It was exhausting, mentally and physically, and I was bruised every single day when we were making this movie. In fact,I would go back to my apartment every night, and my wife would fill the tub with hot water for me. I would then pour half a bag of Epsom salt in it just to help with the bruising. But I hope that all the effort that we put into this movie will resonate with the audience when they watch it. It’s not new that I’m doing all the fights myself, but it’s been a little while since we’ve seen something like this. And, hopefully, that is something that the audience loves to see.
You bumped into Hugh Jackman at Kevin Feige’s recent Walk of Fame ceremony. Did the two of you discuss your time with him as assistant fight choreographer on X-Men?
We absolutely did. We had a wonderful conversation after [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin Feige got his star. We were just walking back to the theater, and I said, “Hugh, do you remember me?” And he said, “Yes!” I helped Corey Yuen, who was the action director at that time [on X-Men]. I helped him choreograph, and one of my responsibilities was to train Hugh with the choreography. So he remembered that, and he was so kind. We had a wonderful exchange, and that was a really sweet moment down memory lane. There’s a picture on the internet of me showing him a kick, and it just brought back so many wonderful memories. I love him so much. He’s not only a great actor, but he’s also a very kind person.
So whose idea was it to reunite Mikey (Sean Astin) and Data (Quan) from The Goonies?
It was the producers. We didn’t really know who would play Cliff, and we were thinking about many different names. And when I heard one of the names, I said, “Oh my God, we have to make that happen!” I actually texted Sean after production reached out to him, and I said, “Hey, buddy, it’s been 40 years since we’ve shared the screen together. It would be incredible to be able to do it again.” And he didn’t respond! (Laughs.) He didn’t respond to me, but he responded by saying yes to production and letting me find out about it that way. So it was such a lovely surprise, and I think he was trying to keep the suspense. I was just waiting in anticipation, and then the producer called me and said, “Sean is in!” And I said, “Oh my gosh, that’s incredible!’
And when we did our scenes together, Jeff Cohen came to visit, so there were three Goonies together. [Writer’s Note: Cohen played Chunk, and he’s now Quan’s entertainment lawyer.] We talked, and it was just incredible. All of a sudden, I felt like I was a kid again. It didn’t feel like we were all grown-up. It felt like it did as kids on the set of The Goonies. And that’s also what it felt like when I did my scenes with Sean. The camera, the crew and everybody just disappeared, and I was looking at Mikey again and I believe he was looking at Data again. So it was one of the happiest shoot days that I’ve ever had.
Did you recommend Daniel Wu for the role of Marvin’s villainous brother after working together on American Born Chinese?
Yes, we were looking at who would be good to play Marvin’s brother, and I was already very familiar with Daniel’s work in Hong Kong. I’ve seen a lot of his movies; he also has a martial arts background. So I just knew that if he were to play my brother, it would be incredible, and sure enough, it was. Our pacing was in sync, as was every punch and kick. We just knew where we needed to go, and that really helped because we didn’t have a lot of time to shoot the big finale. So he was the perfect dance partner and the perfect brother.
You and your Love Hurts co-star Ariana DeBose both made your major studio debuts in Steven Spielberg movies. You both won best supporting role Oscars in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and she even presented your Oscar to you. Was it easy to connect with her after all those points?
Yes, it was. I love Ari. I loved her in West Side Story, and like you said, we have those connections. When she opened the envelope and announced, “The Oscar goes to …” she said my name with such emotion. That was the first time I’d heard anybody announce the winner with tears, and I loved her for it, and I will always love her. I remember running into her at one of those events afterwards, and I said, “Ari, I would love to work with you one day.” And she said, “I would too!” Little did I know, my first movie, post-Oscar, would be with her. So it was an incredible experience. In fact, on the first day of shooting, I took a picture of us together, and I sent it to Steven, saying, “Steven, I’m doing a movie with Ari. We are your godchildren.” And he really liked it.
The last few years keep getting better and better for you, and your life story feels like a movie in its own right. Would you ever want to tell your story on the big screen like Steven did with The Fabelmans?
Oh wow. I don’t think I’m ready for it. First of all, I’m surprised I even did it, but one of the hardest things for me to do was be very open with the world about my struggles and everything that I was going through during those difficult times. I was raised to not do that and keep all my emotions inside. But for reasons I cannot even explain, I just opened up for the world to see, and I feel like that’s already enough. So to see my life story up on the screen, I don’t know. I just don’t know.
***
Love Hurts opens in theaters on Feb. 7, 2025.
English (US) ·