"Everything Everywhere All at Once" star Ke Huy Quan is reacting to his first Oscar nomination, calling the recognition "a true honor."
"It feels incredible. I always love watching the Oscars. Every single year, I would imagine what it feels like to be in that room," he told "Good Morning America" Tuesday after the 2023 Oscar nominations were announced, saying "that dream only existed in my imagination."
"So for this to be really happening, I am ecstatic," Quan, who is nominated for best supporting actor for his role as Waymond Wang, added. "What a true honor."
His journey to the Academy Awards has been a long one, from early roles as Short Round in 1984's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and Data in 1985's "The Goonies."
Despite appearing in those beloved films, he stepped away from acting until Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert cast him in "Everything Everywhere All at Once."
"When I stepped away, that dream, all the dreams that I had of, you know, imagining one day of walking down the red carpet at the Oscars, those scenes dissipated and they were so distant that I didn't think they would ever come back," Quan recalled.
"And so for me to be here today, to be nominated, it is so surreal," he continued. "And it goes to show that, you know, if you stick with it, dreams do come true no matter how long it takes."
Quan, who has won a Golden Globe and received BAFTA and SAG Award nominations for playing Waymond, said he was "jumping up and down" at home when his name was read and that his "Everything Everywhere All at Once" family, who was watching with him via Zoom, was "so, so, so happy" for the love their film received.
In total, "Everything Everywhere All at Once" received 11 nominations, the most of any film this year.
The film, which stars Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American immigrant who must channel parallel versions of herself to save the universe all while being audited by the IRS, earned a nomination for the top prize: best picture.
Other nominations "Everything Everywhere All at Once" received include best director and best original screenplay (for the Daniels), best actress (for Yeoh), best supporting actor (for Quan), best supporting actress (for Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu), best original score, best original song, best costume design and best film editing.
The 95th Academy Awards will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 12.
