Ke Huy Quan made history at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, becoming the first actor of Asian descent to win the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role. The Everything Everywhere All at Once star, who was born in Vietnam to a Chinese family, was nominated alongside Paul Dano (The Fabelmans), Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Eddie Redmayne (The Good Nurse). In the film, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Quan plays the doting Waymond Wang, who follows wife Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) on her mad adventure through the multiverse.
Presented with the award by Orlando Bloom, the former child star, best known for The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, wept as he took in the historic nature of this moment.
“This is a really emotional moment for me,” he told the crowd. “Recently I was told that if I were to win tonight, I would become the very first Asian actor to win in this category. When I heard this, I quickly realized that this moment no longer belongs to just me, it also belongs to everyone who has asked for change. ”
Quan revealed that he had stepped away from acting because there “were so few opportunities.” Acknowledging fellow nominees Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu and Hong Chau, among others, he praised his peers for challenging the status quo: “The landscape looks so different now than before. Thank you so much for everyone in this room and everyone who contributed to these changes.”
Quan ended his emotional speech by addressing the people not yet in the room: “To all those at home who are watching and struggling and waiting to be seen, keep going because one day the spotlight will find you.” he said. “Thank you, everyone, for rooting for me. I will be rooting for you.”
Head here to see the list of winners.
