Ke Huy Quan Reveals 'Life-Changing' Money He Received in First Residuals Check for 'Indiana Jones' Movie | Just Jared

Ke Huy Quan was just 13-years-old when he made his movie debut as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and he is opening up about the “life-changing” amount of money he earned from the film.

The actor, who won an Oscar recently for Everything Everywhere All at Once, began his career in the early 1980s with roles in Indiana Jones and The Goonies. He took a long break from acting before returning to the job in the past five years.

In his new memoir, “Never Say Die,” Quan talks about the moment when he received his first residuals check for Indiana Jones.

1

Ke Huy Quan’s first residuals check was for around $100,000

“One afternoon, I walked into the kitchen and found my parents standing together at the table. Mom was holding an envelope with my name printed across it. Dad had the papers that had been inside. They were both smiling, the kind of smile that comes from surprise and disbelief mixed together. They handed everything to me. It was a check from Lucasfilm. It was for almost $100,000, an amount that didn’t make any sense to me,” Quan wrote in the book (via EW).

Quan credits Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for sharing the profits from the movie, saying that it wasn’t normal for a supporting actor to earn such a big amount.

He added, “Back then, almost no actors got a piece of a movie’s profits. Even today, only the biggest stars do. That a kid like me, making his first film, would be included in something like that was unheard of. And Temple of Doom wasn’t some small movie no one was expected to see. It was the sequel to a massive hit, a movie everyone knew would make a lot of money. That made their gesture even more generous.”

“That small share was life-changing for my family,” he said.

Quan did not note the year he received the check, but if we estimate that the check was received in 1985, that same $100,000 would be worth around $311,000 today.

What’s a residual check?

SAG-AFTRA notes that, “Residuals are compensation paid to performers for use of a theatrical motion picture or television program beyond the use covered by initial compensation. For TV work, residuals begin once a show starts re-airing or is released to video/DVD, pay television, broadcast TV, basic cable, or new media. For film work, residuals begin once the movie appears on video/DVD, basic cable and free or pay television, or new media.” 

Posted To:Indiana Jones Ke Huy Quan Movies