Ke Huy Quan recently told The Guardian that one of his most fond memories of making “The Goonies” was an unforgettable prank producer Steven Spielberg played on Harrison Ford, Quan’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” co-star who visited the set during production.
“I was star-struck when Harrison Ford came to visit because I’d made Indy. Spielberg played a big joke on him,” Quan said. “There was a biography out of him that he really hated, so Steven went out and bought about 300 copies, so that when Harrison came to visit and walked on to set, the security guard, the gaffers, the camera equipment people, everybody was reading that biography.”
Quan made his acting debut in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” with “The Goonies” being his follow-up project. Spielberg directed the former. As it turns out, Ford wasn’t the only A-list visitor on set.
“I remember when we were told that Michael Jackson was going to visit,” Quan said. “The cast and crew were so excited. We didn’t know what time he was arriving, so we were constantly looking over our shoulder. Sure enough, when he walked onto the set, everybody just stopped what they were doing – even the guy making the coffee.”
“He was very shy,” Quan continued. “I think we made him nervous because there were so many people. Then we took those photos that you see on the internet. We were so giddy that he was there. He gave us tickets to watch him perform in Los Angeles, and gave us all a jacket, which some of us still have. Somehow I lost mine, which I’m very mad at myself for.”
Quan was just a child when he starred opposite Ford in the “Indiana Jones” sequel. Quan recently told Entertainment Weekly that his co-star helped him overcome his fears on the set.
“When we shot this sequence, I was so scared,” Quan said of a sequence where Ford’s Indiana Jones helps his character, Short Round, escape from the Temple of Doom. “And I cried. I remember Harrison Ford kneeling down in front of me and asking me if I was okay.”
“He said, and I’ll never forget this, ‘Ke, I want you to remember, I will never hurt you,’” Quan continued. “When he said that, oh my gosh, it just made me love him so much more. Here is Indiana Jones telling me that he’s gonna take care of me.”
Variety recently confirmed that a sequel to “The Goonies” is officially in development with Spielberg back as a producer and Potsy Ponciroli writing the script.
