Ke Huy Quan reveals almost $100,000 Temple of Doom residuals cheque
Ke Huy Quan opened an envelope from Lucasfilm to find almost US$100,000 in residuals from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, according to an account from his memoir Never Say Die reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
The cheque arrived after he had already been paid for the part. He did not understand how more money could appear.
He was 12 when he booked the role of Short Round. The film was Steven Spielberg's 1984 follow-up to 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Quan has said he had little grasp at that age of how Hollywood pay worked beyond the first fee.
Residuals are repeat payments made when a film is reused, while profit participation is a small agreed cut of the money a film goes on to earn. Quan described his small share of Temple of Doom profits as a quiet gesture from Spielberg and George Lucas, and said it was life-changing for his family.
Quan, a Vietnamese-born actor, later won the Academy Award for best supporting actor, as reported by Reuters. Nearly 40 years after Temple of Doom and The Goonies, he became a Hollywood star again with an acclaimed performance, according to The Associated Press.
Asked what Short Round might be doing 38 years after Temple of Doom, Quan told Variety he had no idea where the character is now.
For fans, this means a familiar screen sidekick comes with an off-screen ledger story. A child actor cashed a second pay packet he never expected, and he still credits two famous names for putting it in the post.
