Ke Huy Quan spent years wondering whether the movie career he began as a child would ever come back. Now he is putting the years audiences did not see into a memoir.
The Oscar winner’s Never Say Die arrives September 15, tracing his life from Vietnam and refugee camps to child stardom, the long stretch away from acting and his return in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Speaking with PEOPLE at D23 in Anaheim, Quan said he hopes the book reaches people who think the chance to chase a dream has already passed them by.
Quan, 55, was 12 when he landed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The Goonies followed a year later, but the early momentum faded as he got older and leading acting opportunities became harder to find.
Quan Said the Path Back Was Not Straight
Quan said one reason he wrote the memoir was that he knows people can start to believe a long-delayed dream is permanently out of reach.
“I hope that my story reminds them that the path is not always straight,” he told PEOPLE, adding that the work people love can sometimes find its way back to them.
That did not make the writing process easy. Quan called the book “really difficult” and said opening up about his life in that way did not come naturally.
When the memoir was announced in April, Quan said an Instagram photo of strangers crossing a busy intersection made him think about how little people know about what others are carrying privately.
Never Say Die Goes Back Before Hollywood
The book begins before Quan’s child-star years. The publisher’s description says Never Say Die follows his family’s departure from Vietnam, his time in refugee camps and the move to Los Angeles before an open casting call changed his life.
That casting call put him opposite Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Soon after, Quan joined the cast of The Goonies, giving him two defining 1980s roles before he was old enough to drive.
The memoir also covers the years when he stayed close to movies without being in front of the camera. Quan attended USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and later worked behind the scenes as an action choreographer and assistant director.
Those years also included his relationship with Echo, who became his wife and remained part of the private life audiences knew much less about.
His Oscar Win Came After He Nearly Gave Up Acting
Quan returned to acting at 49 in Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. His performance as Waymond Wang turned a comeback role into an awards run that ended with the 2023 Academy Award for supporting actor.
The message he delivered on Oscar night now sits naturally beside the memoir. In his acceptance speech, Quan said he had almost given up on his dream before telling viewers not to give up on theirs.
Kirkus Reviews said the memoir returns to what Quan calls his “lost years,” including film school, stunt work, assistant-directing jobs and the pain of watching acting opportunities disappear.
The Title Comes From The Goonies
Never Say Die borrows from one of the lines most closely tied to Quan’s early career. “Goonies never say die” became one of the signature phrases from the 1985 film, and Quan has continued using it when talking about the movie and its cast.
The title also fits the wider shape of his career. Quan moved from two beloved child roles to years outside the acting spotlight, then returned decades later in one of the most public Hollywood comebacks of the last few years.
Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, is publishing the memoir. Hachette is also releasing an unabridged audiobook read by Quan.
Quan Is Still Busy Onscreen
Quan is scheduled to promote the memoir after publication, including an event at The Strand in New York and a Santa Clara appearance with Gene Luen Yang. Some stops include signed copies and audience conversations about the book.
He also remains active onscreen. At the same D23 event where he discussed the memoir with PEOPLE, Quan and Ginnifer Goodwin hosted Disney’s entertainment showcase and helped announce that Zootopia 3 is in early development.
Quan voiced Gary De’Snake in Zootopia 2. Disney said he and Goodwin were onstage with Disney Animation chief creative officer Jared Bush when the third film was revealed.
Never Say Die will be published September 15 in hardcover, digital and audiobook editions.