Love Hurts (2025)
Love Hurtsis one of the big movies coming out around Valentine’s Day, which is most notable for starring recent Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan as the lead character.
The film was directed by stunt coordinatorJonathan Eusebio in his directorial debut, with David Leitch, co-director ofJohn Wickand director ofDeadpool 2andBullet Train, producing the film.Love Hurtstells the story of a former hitman turned realtor who is pulled back into his old life, and Quan’s involvement in the project makes it all the more exciting.
The rest ofLove Hurts’castis also great, with Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, and Marshawn Lynch making up a handful of the supporting characters, though Quan is definitely the biggest draw in the film.
While its initial trailers showed a lot of promise,Love Hurts' reviewswere very mixed, mostly due to the storytelling and action, as opposed to anything against the actors in the film.
Regardless,Quan’s leading role in the film is very exciting, and a well-deserved spotlight for the Academy Award-winning actor.
Love Hurts Is Ke Huy Quan’s First Ever Leading Movie Role
He Has Been A Supporting Actor Throughout His Career
WhileKe Huy Quan has been in plenty of projectssinceEverything Everywhere All at Once, he hasn’t been the star of a project until now.
He won his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, so it makes sense that he has been mostly used as support for the main protagonist in his more recent projects, as he has proven himself to be excellent in those kinds of roles.
While he is obviously a good actor, whether he is the main character or supporting,his status as a leading man is still seemingly up in the air.
Ke Huy Quan Notable Filmography
Movie/TV Show
Character
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Short Round
The Goonies
Data
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Waymond Wang
Loki
Ouroboros (OB)
Kung Fu Panda 4
Han
Love Hurts
Marvin Gable
Now that Quan is finally being given his starring role inLove Hurts,he has the opportunity to prove that he can be that leading man, taking on the biggest role of a film.
Love Hurts: Released in February 2025, Love Hurts follows a realtor whose past life resurfaces when an old partner-in-crime brings an ominous message. As he faces pressure from his crime-lord brother, he is forced to confront the past and the secrets he thought were long buried.
Unfortunately, it also means that if the movie doesn’t succeed, studios may not want to bank on him for future titles, andLove Hurts' early reviewsindicate that it isn’t going to be the most popular film in critical circles.
However, Quan has enough star power now that he certainly isn’t going to just disappear from acting again, he may just not take on many starring roles.
Why Ke Huy Quan Didn’t Get More Work After Indiana Jones & The Goonies
Hollywood Wasn’t Willing To Cast Most Asian Actors
Quan’s past in the film industryhas been something the actor has talked about many times, andit unfortunately paints a poor picture of the Hollywood of the past, that does extend up until now to an extent.
Despite putting on a great performance in two absolutely classic movies from the 80s,Indiana Jones and theTemple of DoomandThe Goonies, he was unable to find much work after them due to the fact that no one was really hiring Asian actors outside of small bit parts or as racist stereotypes.
Ke Huy Quan stars in the new 2025 action movie Love Hurts, and here is where the movie can be watched, including showtimes and its streaming status.
He did have a handful of roles in the late ’80s and ’90s, with the only somewhat significant American property being a supporting role in the Brendan Frasier-ledEncino Manin 1992, which was also his last American production before his recent career resurgence.After his acting days, he still worked in the film industry, mostly as a stunt coordinator and choreographer, working on movies like the firstX-Menand Jet Li’sThe One, in addition to smaller projects in Asia and the US.
Love Hurts Is Part Of Ke Huy Quan’s Revival After Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Actor Has Been On A Roll Since 2022
After his years of working behind the scenes, Quan has said that the biggest reason he feltcomfortable trying to return to acting was because of the 2018 filmCrazy Rich Asians.
The film obviously featured a predominantly Asian cast, and was a sign for many Asian actors that Hollywood was finally becoming more inclusive, willing to tell stories featuring more Asian characters.
After the release of that film, Quan’s first return to acting was in the Netflix movieFinding ‘Ohana, and soon after, wascast inEverything Everywhere All at Once.
SinceEverything Everywhere All at Onceand Quan’s Oscar win,he has been cast in plenty of roles in animated and live-action projectsby a number of big studios.
The first thing he did afterEEAAOwas the short-lived Disney+ seriesAmerican Born Chinese, which featured hisEEAAOcostars Michelle Yeoh, James Hong, and Stephanie Hsu.
He also had a pretty significant supporting role in the second season of the MCU showLoki, playing a cosmic technician for the TVA organization.
Exclusive: Loki star Ke Huy Quan speaks to Screen Rant about Ouroboros’ potential return in future MCU projects following the events of Loki season 2.
In the film world, Ke Huy Quan’s only major role sinceEEAAOwas inKung Fu Panda 4, playing a sunda pangolin who is the leader of a group of thieves in Juniper City.
However, he does have a part in 2 big projects afterLove Hurts, those being the Russo Brothers’Electric Statefor Netflix, as well as returning to Disney for a role inZootopia 2.He has been in a lot of projects since his reintroduction to acting, certainly trying to make up for the years of work he missed out on.
Ke Huy Quan Is Incredibly Deserving Of His Career Resurgence
The Actor Should’ve Had A Much Longer Career
Quan is not only a great actor, proven through his many projects, but based on the interviews he has given and the way he presents himself, he seems like an incredibly sweet and genuine person.His iconic Oscars' speech is one of the best moments from the Academy Awardsin recent years, and shows that he absolutely deserved not only the award but the career that he has had since then.
He clearly has a passion for the work that he does, evident in the way he puts everything he has into every role he takes on.
The lack of roles for actors like Ke Huy Quan when he was starting out is extremely devastating, ashe has stated that he never wanted to retire from acting, he was just unable to make any sort of living from it.
Now that he has shown what an incredible actor he is, even after nearly 40 years without being in front of the camera, it goes to show how many great performances were missed out on because no one gave him a chance.
Not only is Ke Huy Quan an immense talent, but he was also unfairly ejected out of the industry through no fault of his own, making his comeback all the more heartwarming to see.
He clearly has a passion for the work that he does, evident in the way he puts everything he has into every role he takes on, and thankfully, it seems like he is continuing that trend inLove Hurts.
Quan should’ve had a longer career at this point, but at least he is getting more opportunities at this point in his life.
Your Rating
Your comment has not been saved
Cast
Love Hurts: Released in February 2025, Love Hurts follows a realtor whose past life resurfaces when an old partner-in-crime brings an ominous message.
As he faces pressure from his crime-lord brother, he is forced to confront the past and the secrets he thought were long buried.
