The only thing more unpredictable than Tom Hiddleston’s trickster god slipping in and out of time in Loki is the incredible Hollywood comeback of co-star Ke Huy Quan, who plays Ouroboros (O.B.) in the Marvel series. Like the snake eating its own tale of the character’s namesake, the Oscar winner’s career has arguably come full circle with the role since the gadget-obsessed character resembles an adult version of one of his most famous child star roles as Data in The Goonies. However, Quan has already channeled a fully grown Data in an unearthed interview that seems to foreshadow his Loki role in retrospect.
Though you could argue that Quan playing a multiverse guy in the chair type character in both his Academy Award-winning role in Everything Everywhere All at Once and Loki could put him at risk of being typecast, it may surprise you to know that Kevin Feige and company locked down Quan’s MCU part before the release of last year’s Best Picture-winning A24 film. Besides, O.B. arguably has much more in common with Data anyway. In fact, Quan even called O.B. “a grownup Data,” according to Loki producer Kevin Wright.
Quan’s unexpected dress rehearsal
Back in 2009, more than a decade before his Hollywood comeback, Quan was interviewed for a Collectormania Midlands event mostly talking about his Goonies role. In it, he shared a story about uncovering the famous oversized coat that Data would wear in the movie.
“I moved last year. And I was just going through my stuff. And I found this box laying in my garage, right. And I haven’t opened it for maybe like 10 years. And I open it and there was some stuff on top and I took it out and at the very bottom was the coat. And I took it out and it still looked exactly the same 20 years later.”
At this, the interviewer revealed she had a surprise for Quan and pulled out the very same coat in what was apparently a duplicate prop. Holding it, Quan said “This is bizarre” and explained how he had to “put this on every day for five months.” To his surprise, it still fit when he put it on. Check out the clip for yourself, timestamped at the moment the coat gets pulled out.
“This is weird, this is very weird. Well, I feel like I’m Data again,” Quan quipped while donning the olive-colored garment.
What’s even weirder in retrospect is that the jacket actually bears a striking resemblance to Quan’s O.B. outfit as it has a similar green hue, has patches, and is made of a thick-looking fabric. With Quan being a full-grown adult while wearing his Data coat in the interview, complete with glasses, he certainly looks like O.B. in perhaps an earlier part of his career at the Time Variance Authority.
The entire interview is quite splendid, especially when you hear how humble Quan is in regard to stepping out of the limelight. At the time, he was doing more work behind the camera in the States and in Hong Kong. When asked whether he planned a return to acting one day, Quan said, “If the right role comes along, yeah sure, why not.”
Catch Quan on Loki on Disney Plus this Thursday at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.