He took home an award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role during the event.

Ke Huy Quan reflects on uncomfortable run-in with ‘well-known’ actor at 2023 SAG Awards

He took home an award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role during the event.

By Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale is a senior writer at **. She has been working at EW since July 2026. Her work has previously appeared on Us Weekly and J-14.

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September 15, 2026 10:00 a.m. ET

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Ke Huy Quan attends 2023 SAG Awards. Credit:

Kevin Winter/Getty

- Ke Huy Quan recalled an interaction he had with a ‘well-known actor’ during the 2023 SAG Awards.

- Quan took home Best Supporting Actor for his role in *Everything Everywhere All at Once *during the award’s show, which has since been renamed the Actor Awards.

- Quan’s book, *Never Say Die*, is out now.

Not everyone was excited to see Ke Huy Quan at the 2023 SAG Awards, it seems.

During Quan’s *Everything Everywhere All at Once** *award show run, the actor became the selfie king, soaking in the moment and snapping photos with any and all A-listers who came his way. Quan revealed in his recently published memoir, *Never Say Die*, that one star whom he crossed paths with didn’t match his enthusiasm.

“I spotted a well-known actor I’d respected for years standing right behind me,” Quan wrote, recalling his time at the event, which has since been renamed the Actor Awards. “Without thinking too much about it, I asked if we could take a picture together. I held the phone out between us, angled it back toward our faces, and leaned in.”

Quan “made one of my silly faces” — expressing a sense of joy with his mouth open for the image — when the unnamed person had a surprising response.

“He looked at me for a beat, then said sharply, ‘Why did you make that stupid face?’ I laughed, a little surprised and not quite sure what to make of it,” Quan recalled. “He shook his head and added, ‘You’re not going to win tonight with that stupid face.’”

Ke Huy Quan’s memoir ‘Never Say Die’ hit shelves on Sept. 15.

Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Book Group

The interaction “wasn’t loud,” Quan wrote. “No one else seemed to notice,” he added. “We went our separate ways.”

The *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom** *alum saw the person sitting “a few tables away” and “tried” to shake off the moment.

“When my category came up, I wasn’t thinking about anything in particular. Then my name was called. For a second, I didn’t move,” Quan continued in the book. “Then I stood, that familiar disbelief rushing back in. I walked to the stage and accepted the award, feeling the weight of it settle into my hands.”

He added, “I went back to my seat, holding the statue, and smiled to myself. I’d won with that stupid face. I wasn’t going to let someone else’s comment touch that night. It was too big for me.”

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Quan made history for his 2023 awards season run, becoming the first Asian actor to win Best Supporting Actor at the SAGs. He got emotional when accepting the actor statue.

“I recently was told that if I were to win tonight, I would become the very first Asian actor to win in this category,” Quan said during his speech. “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.”

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The actor praised his fellow Asian nominees, including Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, and Hong Chau.

“The landscape looks so different than before; thank you to everyone who took part in these changes,” the Oscar winner added. “Lastly, to all those at home who are watching, who are struggling and waiting to be seen, please keep on going because the spotlight will one day find you. Thank you, everyone, for rooting for me; I will be rooting for you.”

*Never Say Die *is out now.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Memoirs”