Academy Award winning actor Ke Huy Quan and NBA World Champion Jeremy Lin took the stage recently to accept honors from The Asian American Foundation at the Javit Convention Center in New York.
Both shared similar stories of doubt and despair as each acknowledged reaching a point where they were close to seeing their dreams disappear.
“This is such an amazing feeling. Truly, being named a TAAF honoree means so much to me, not just because of what this beautiful recognition, but because of what it represents – being seen, being heard, and being counted,” said Quan.
He won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as Waymond Wang opposite Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2022. Before that it was years of rejection after rejection after first gaining fame as a child actor as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984 and and Data in Goonies in 1985.
He said his comeback role in Everything Everywhere after more than two decades helped him “rediscover hope, to rediscover what’s possible.”
Prior to that, Quan reached the lowest of lows when his agent called to inform him that he had been rejected for a bit part playing a nameless Vietnamese soldier with only two lines.
“For a moment, it felt like maybe that was it. Like, there was no place left for me. But here’s what I’ve learned. Doors don’t close forever. Sometimes, they just need the right people to kick them open,” he said.
For Jeremy Lin, despair meant sitting at the end of the bench for the New York Knicks in 2012 with no opportunity to play. Then injuries to their two top stars, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, opened the door for Lin. An assistant coach came up to him and said “he’s like ‘we’re gonna use you tonight. Don’t try to do too much.”‘
The first game Lin did just that, he didn’t try to do too much. In fact, he passed up shots fearing he would fail.
“I did nothing,” said Lin during a panel discussion with Mike Yam of the NFL Network. “I played not to lose.”
After the game, Lin’s agent called to scold him, essentially telling him why bother putting up 500 to 1,000 jump shots a day during the off season if he’s not going to shoot when he gets into the game. Lin said he suffered from imposter syndrome.
“It’s like shooting your shot and missing is better than not shooting your shot at all. And that’s kind of what I had to come face to face with that night when Linsanity happened because my agent had called me and said, ‘hey, this is your last chance. This is your last chance.”‘
Lin overcame his fears and his self-doubt and scored 25 points against the New York Knicks launching what to this day is known as Linsanity. That would set off a two-week hot streak during which Lin would lead the Knicks over the Utah Jazz (28 points), Washington Wizards (23 points/10 assists), Los Angeles Lakers (38 points), Minnesota Timberwolves (20 points), Toronto Raptors (game winning three pointer), Sacramento Kings (13 assists), New Orlean Hornets (26 points) and Dallas Maverichs (28 points, 14 assists)
Lin to this day is stunned that people are still talking about Linsanity 14 years later.
“Kobe Bryant or a Steph or LeBron, their mentality is I’m better than you. For me, I’m not built like that. I have a confidence that I can do certain things, but, and I’ve been very open about it, I struggled with really bad anxiety.
“That was something that I carried with me to the last game that I ever played which is a game 7 in the finals. And it was like, it’s okay that you can do some fear, but still gonna go do it. You’re still gonna go do it despite that fear. And that was something that ended up leaning into and realizing that is a strength.”
Also receiving awards that night on May 15 were Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube and Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder of Care.com and Ohai.ai.