One of the many highlights of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is the return of Ke Huy Quan, who gives a heartbreaking (and stunt-laden) performance as Waymond Wang in the Daniels’ hit multiverse film. Quan was best known as a 1980s child star, having famously played Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and Data in “The Goonies,” but decades had gone by since his last acting role.

Quan kept busy in the film industry, working as an assistant director for Wong Kar-Wai and choreographing fight scenes for a variety of Asian films. But in a new interview with GQ, Quan revealed he was inspired to return to acting after seeing how much success “Crazy Rich Asians” had with a cast of Asian actors.

“For a long time I thought I was at peace with it, but something was missing, and I really didn’t know what...