Ke Huy Quan can make an apology funny and a nervous character worth worrying about. His warmth earns our affection, though the films need to give him more to do than be a pleasant diversion.
Fi1m perspective
In Zootopia 2 (2025), Gary De’Snake sounds as though he expects to be told off for taking up space. Ke Huy Quan gives the snake an eagerness that makes his anxiety funny, then makes us care about it. We were surprised to feel upset on Gary’s behalf, because those pre-emptive apologies make the city’s unkindness towards him feel personal. Byron Howard and Jared Bush’s busy sequel is worth seeing, chiefly for a character whose politeness does more than the plot’s explanations.
That quickness to register was there in Richard Donner’s The Goonies (1985). As Data, the gadgeteer, Quan establishes himself fast within a group that the script does not serve equally. The film’s noise and uneven pacing can wear, but his presence is one reason to tolerate them. Coming after Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), it made resourcefulness a recognisable part of his screen appeal.
After sparse acting work in the 1990s and a hiatus beginning around 2002, Quan returned in Finding ʻOhana (2021). Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert then gave him contrasting versions of Waymond Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). The part allowed vulnerability and quiet strength to sit alongside his optimism, rather than asking him simply to be agreeable.
Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) gives him a smaller, more straightforward job as Han, a pangolin who rolls into a ball when trouble appears. We laughed at him, and at Ronny Chieng’s fish speaking from a pelican’s beak. These are good comic contributions to a film that has lost much of the feeling beneath its slapstick. Quan supplies a welcome diversion, but there is only so much a supporting voice can repair.
Gary is the more satisfying use of him because the nervousness belongs to the story: here is a city with no place for reptiles, and a snake trying hard not to offend anyone. The animators give Gary a face caught between hope and dread; Quan’s apologetic delivery makes both easy to understand. Start with Zootopia 2 for that combination, with fair warning that the mystery surrounding him is more complicated than it needs to be.
Biography
Ke Huy Quan is an American actor. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he immigrated to the United States as a child. As a child actor he appeared in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) as Short Round and The Goonies (1985) as Data.
After a long hiatus from acting, during which he worked as a stunt choreographer and assistant director, Quan returned with Finding ʻOhana (2021). He received critical acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). He is the first Vietnam-born actor to win an Academy Award.
Quan has voiced Han in Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) and Gary De'Snake in Zootopia 2 (2025). He also appeared in the second season of the series Loki (2023).
