Indy and Short Round, together again! Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan had a viral reunion at the 2023 Academy Awards decades after working together on Indiana Jones.
The Shrinking star, 80, introduced the Best Picture category at the end of the Sunday, March 12, awards show. Quan, 51, and his Everything Everywhere All at Once costars were nominated alongside nine other films — including Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis — and ultimately walked away with the win.
When Ford announced the Michelle Yeoh-led movie’s victory, Quan was one of the first to jump out of his seat. His excitement only grew when he took the stage and spotted the Star Wars actor. The twosome shared a sweet hug — and the moment took social media by storm.
“I’m tearing up,” one fan tweeted, while another Oscars viewer wrote, “10/10, would watch again.”
Several social media users shared screenshots of the hug from the ceremony, comparing the interaction to a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. (Steven Spielberg, who directed the 1984 action movie, was also spotted cheering for Quan in the audience.)
The former child star made his big screen debut alongside Ford, who gushed over his fellow actor’s awards season recognition earlier this year. Quan’s stellar performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once was his first movie role in decades and earned him trophies at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.
“I’m so happy for him. He’s a great guy,” Ford told Entertainment Tonight in January. “He’s a wonderful actor. He was when he was a little kid, and he still is. I’m glad. I’m very happy for him.”
The former costars previously reunited at the D23 Expo last year. “I love you, Indy,” Quan captioned an Instagram photo in September 2022. “Indiana Jones and Short Round reunited after 38 years.”
Movie lovers were delighted by the snap, and Quan later went into detail about seeing Ford one month later.
“We’re in this green room with so many actors, producers, and directors, and the person who was assigned to assist me said, ‘Harrison Ford is right outside the green room. Would you want to go say hi?'” he recalled in an October 2022 interview with The New York Times. “I’m thinking, ‘Of course! I haven’t seen him in 38 years.'”
The American Born Chinese actor spotted Ford with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who’s set to appear in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. “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,'” Quan added. “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.'”
All of Quan’s worries subsided soon enough. “He looks and points at me and says, ‘Are you Short Round?'” he continued. “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.”
