Ke Huy Quan has opened up about working on the Indiana Jones set with Harrison Ford when he was just 12 years old – and his eye-popping first residuals check, in his new memoir.
The 55-year-old actor detailed playing the role of Short Round in Steven Spielberg‘s 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in his book Never Say Die, published September 15.
He revealed the director used to use him to cheer up Ford, now 84, during long shoot days.
‘I found out that whenever [Ford] was in a bad mood, Steven would tell someone, “Send Ke over.” I had no idea any of that was happening. I just knew that whenever I walked up, Harrison softened a little or said, “Hey, kid,” in that warm way he had,’ he penned, per People.
Quan said that while filming, he didn’t consider how the long days affected Ford.
Elsewhere in his book, the Oscar-winning star recalled receiving his first residuals check in the amount of nearly $100,000 when he was a teenager.
Ke Huy Quan, 55, opened up about working on the Indiana Jones set with Harrison Ford when he was just 12 years old in his new memoir; pictured in November 2025
The actor detailed playing the role of Short Round in Steven Spielberg’s 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in his book Never Say Die; pictured with co-star Kate Capshaw
‘One afternoon, I walked into the kitchen and found my parents standing together at the table,’ Quan wrote. ‘Mom was holding an envelope with my name printed across it. Dad had the papers that had been inside.’
He went on, ‘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.’
Unfamiliar with the concept of residual payments, he added that he ‘didn’t understand how more money could suddenly appear’ after he was already compensated.
He described the residuals clause in his contract as ‘a quiet gesture’ from Spielberg and producer/co-writer George Lucas.
While filming the adventure/action movie, Harrison appeared ‘unshakable’ to Quan, he explained.
In retrospect, he said he realized ‘those long days could wear [Ford] down too.’
‘I didn’t think of it as cheering him up,’ he reflected. ‘I just liked being near him, and he made me feel like he liked having me around too.’
The author said his bond with Ford, then 40, was akin to ‘tagging along with an older brother.’
‘[Ford] made all of it look simple, like being Indiana Jones wasn’t something he had to act. It was just who he was,’ Quan wrote in his memoir about the actor’s professionalism.
Beyond their work days, the younger star said Ford was equally personable off camera, teaching him to swim in their hotel pool.
Quan’s memoir was published on September 15
The former co-stars pictured in June 2023
‘Harrison didn’t push or hurry me. He just kept talking me through it, letting me try a little more each time,’ he shared with readers.
‘I focused on his voice, on the way he didn’t seem worried at all. If he wasn’t scared, maybe I didn’t have to be either.’
In August, Ford made a surprise virtual appearance at the D23 convention in Anaheim, California.
He revealed that he is closely involved in a new Indiana Jones ride headed to Tropical Americas land at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.
‘I’m pleased to share that for the first time ever, I’m the actual model of the Indiana Jones animatronic,’ he announced in a video that was also shared on Instagram. ‘I’m excited to see his next adventure, and I’m coming to Walt Disney World soon.’
Ford has starred in multiple Disney-owned movie franchises, but has previously never been seen in a Disney attraction.
The attraction, called Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, is situated inside a Mayan temple, where park goers will experience the immersive underworld.
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