Ke Huy Quan Got a $100K 'Indiana Jones' Residual Check as a Shocked Kid
Ke Huy Quan just dropped a memoir, and it reveals a wild childhood paycheck story. Per Variety, the actor details receiving his first residual check for the 1984 film 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'.
Quan was only 12 when he played Short Round. He writes that he found his parents in the kitchen with an envelope for him from Lucasfilm. Inside was a check for nearly $100,000, an amount he says made no sense to him at the time.
According to his book, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, he didn't understand how extra money could show up after he'd already been paid for the job. He calls the profit-sharing clause a quiet, generous gesture from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
Quan notes that profit participation for actors was extremely rare at the time, especially for a child in their first film. He writes that the financial boost from that check transformed his family's circumstances. The memoir, 'Never Say Die,' was released this week.
