Ke Huy Quan reunites with 'The Goonies' 40 years later: 'Goonies never say die'

Goonies never say die.

"The Goonies" stars Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen and Kerri Green reunited on Monday for Ke Huy Quan's hand and footprint ceremony at the famed TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

Sean Astin did not attend but on Monday joined Quan, Cohen, Green and Feldman for the premiere of his and Quan's new movie "Love Hurts."

In a speech, Brolin, who played Brand in the classic 1985 film, said he holds Quan "in a very dear place in my heart."

"You have that midas touch, my friend, and you have it because you have that heart of gold that you've always had," the actor said.

Brolin added, "I could not be happier for you — I know we all are, all us Goonies here — for an honor that is not only totally deserved, but celebrates all that is right in this industry. Love you, pal."

Brolin also read a letter from Steven Spielberg, who directed Quan in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and whose company Amblin Entertainment produced "The Goonies." The director, who was on vacation and couldn't attend, said Quan's "whole life has been a dream come true."

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"I'm proud of you for your meteoric rise as a child and then your second meteoric rise as a grown-up," he said. "And believe me, very few of us get two bites at that apple."

After rising to fame as a child actor, Quan stepped away from acting for about 20 years due to difficulty finding roles and pivoted into working as a stunt coordinator and assistant director. But he made an acting comeback in 2022 by starring in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," which earned Quan the Oscar for best supporting actor. The film also won best picture.

Since then, Quan has continued acting with roles in "Loki" and "Kung Fu Panda 4," and his upcoming projects include "The Electric State" and "Zootopia 2." He's now taking on the lead role as an action star in the new action-comedy "Love Hurts."

In his speech, Quan got emotional as he reflected that when he was 13, he fantasized about one day being invited to imprint his hand and footprints at the Chinese Theatre after seeing Spielberg and George Lucas do so.

"Of course, it was such a wild dream, and over the years, I would realize how naive that dream was," he said. "As the years passed, I would walk by (the theater) and be reminded how that once hopeful actor turned into just another moviegoer. And now here we are, more than 40 years later, and not only am I acting again, but that crazy dream actually came true."

Quan added that "The Goonies" is "still one of the greatest adventures of my life" and thanked his co-stars for turning out. "The Goonies" screenwriter Chris Columbus also attended Monday's ceremony and honored Quan, "my fellow Goonie," in a speech.

"You have proven yourself time and time and time again to be a man of great integrity, a man of great courage, a man who, against all odds, has been able to make his dreams come true," he said, adding that Quan's is "one of, if not the greatest comeback story in the history of cinema."

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Columbus continued, "You, sir, are the embodiment of a phrase I wrote so many years ago: Goonies never say die."

"Everything Everywhere All at Once" director Daniel Scheinert, who was joined by his co-director on the film Daniel Kwan, said it's been "so inspiring to get a front row seat" to Quan's acting comeback.

"It's so beautiful because the world is just full of so many people who are getting older and thinking maybe they're not supposed to share their art anymore," he said. "They were so inspired to see you come back and prove that you had so much more to offer."

Quan choked up as he told Scheinert and Kwan, "Thank you so much for bringing me back."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Goonies' reunion: Josh Brolin, more stars honor Ke Huy Quan