Could anyone else have played Shorty?

Robyn

Robyn

New member
Don't get me wrong, I like Shorty, but do you think another child actor could have done it any better? Or what if the role had went to a little girl as it was originally thought to have been?

How about Jeff Cohen? Now that's what I call a sidekick!;)

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Dr Bones

Dr Bones

New member
I think there would be plenty of viable options at the time, male or female.

I didn't really rate Jonathan Ke Quan ability as an actor, although it may be just his accent that makes it hard to draw emotion from his voice and makes him sound wooden. For me he was almost lost in Goonies and was only memorable as they gave him props/gagdets, whereas the others relied more on character. IMO he didn't need to be in this film either.

I also never really liked Shorty as a character so to me, replace or erase wouldn't bother me. The film needed somone as there would only have been Indy and Willie, but I'm not sure it couldn't have been anyone else.
 
Robyn

Robyn

New member
Dr Bones said:
I think there would be plenty of viable options at the time, male or female.

I didn't really rate Jonathan Ke Quan ability as an actor, although it may be just his accent that makes it hard to draw emotion from his voice and makes him sound wooden. For me he was almost lost in Goonies and was only memorable as they gave him props/gagdets, whereas the others relied more on character. IMO he didn't need to be in this film either.

I also never really liked Shorty as a character so to me, replace or erase wouldn't bother me. The film needed somone as there would only have been Indy and Willie, but I'm not sure it couldn't have been anyone else.
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For a long time I didn't like Shorty either.. Over the years I've come to like him better now. But I do wonder how different the role and movie could have been, played by a different child.
 
Meerkat

Meerkat

New member
Maybe...maybe not. I have a hard time thinking about these kinds of things because the person who played Shorty is, well, the person who played Shorty and I can't imagine him acting any other way.
 
Webley

Webley

New member
I would have an easier time seeing some one else play Indy.
Fore me Mr Round is the best part of all 4 movies.
 
DocWhiskey

DocWhiskey

Well-known member
Shorty is my favorite Indy sidekick, but I don't think the characters shoes would've been hard to fill.

A little girl as Indy's sidekick would've been strange seeing as we already know what he does to young girls judging from Marion (Hi yo!).
 
lao che & sons

lao che & sons

New member
DocWhiskey said:
A little girl as Indy's sidekick would've been strange seeing as we already know what he does to young girls judging from Marion (Hi yo!).
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oh god. I can't even imagine the willie scott scenes like that :rolleyes:

I love shorty. he's just awesome. Those scenes with he and Indy fighting the thugees is so great b/c of his karate skills and the way that the thugees fly back into the lava pit is very 1930s like (y)
 
C

Chewbacca Jones

New member
I would say, considering that George and Steve had to cast such a wide net, and found Quan by accident... there is only one. Sure, he was no oscar contender, but he had the energy and just the right amount of childishness to do what needed to be done in that role, in the specific film. And while there were plenty of child actors around, I can't think of any that were of Asian descent at that time. The role was a wild card, and so was the actor. Could another Asian kid done it? Sure. But I suspect, the choice would have been similar.

Actually, when I was in grade school, I knew a Korean kid who reminds me a lot of Shorty, in hindsight. He could have played the role, no problem. Are you out there, Steve?
 
Nurhachi1991

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
Corey Felman lol


I could see the card playing scene now

Indy: make your draw **** heap

Short Round: You aint got no Padhand! You cheat Dr. Jones!

Indy: your four eyed pile of ****

Short Round: a pile of **** has a thousand eyes!
 
Exulted Unicron

Exulted Unicron

New member
I guess what makes Shorty even more loveable in the role is the effort he puts into it, despite not auditioning it and getting the role completely by accident by turning up with his brother.

I really don;t think anyone could have pulled off the way shorty was in Temple. He was getting to do what alot of kids at the time wished they could, travel with Indy and get to be like him, going on adventures and "trying" to stay out of trouble.
 
bgiles73

bgiles73

Member
Maybe Jackie Chan could play as either an all grown up Shorty, or Shorty's relative. I would have said father, but wasn't Shorty supposed to be an orphan?
 
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