Universal Pictures/HBOYou might be familiar with The White Lotus Season 3 cast by now, but perhaps you didn’t spot a massive cameo in the latest episode of none other than Indiana Jones icon Ke Huy Quan.
The third chapter of the hit HBO series takes us to Thailand, with a whole host of new privileged, self-absorbed characters who are starting to unravel thanks to their deep-seated dysfunction.
In Season 3 Episode 2, ‘The Meaning Of Dreams’, tensions continue to bubble away beneath the surface for the trio of frenemies, Kate, Laurie, and Jac, while Rick deals with his anger issues and Chelsea gets held up at gunpoint.
As for the Ratliff family, they are none the wiser about patriarch Timothy’s impending legal issue. However, we the viewer learn more thanks to an unhinged phone call with his old business associate, Kenny Nguyen.
The White Lotus Season 3’s surprise Ke Huy Quan cameo
HBOIn The White Lotus Season 3 Episode 2, Kenny is voiced by Ke Huy Quan, who is best known for playing Short Round and Data in Indiana Jones and The Goonies.
Quan has had a welcome renaissance in the acting world, having bagged his first Oscar for his role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, and more recently leading the action movie Love Hurts.
In the latest White Lotus episode, Timothy gets a call from a Wall Street Journal reporter asking about his involvement in a dodgy business deal with Kenny Nguyen. He takes himself to the side and speaks with Kenny, and we hear Quan’s distinctive voice on the other end.
He gives a hilariously unhinged performance, right from the offset. After Timothy asks why he’s being hounded by the press, Kenny says, “I don’t care about the f**king story… because 20 agents just raided my f**king office.”
“F**k me, I’m done. I’m gonna f**king kill myself,” he says. Timothy tries to keep calm, but he’s clearly panicking, knowing he’s implicated in the crime.
“Just tell me what happened,” he says, but Kenny is too preoccupied by his own fate, crying, “I can’t go to prison. God.”
Timothy starts to grow frustrated, saying, “You told me this couldn’t happen.” But Kenny replies, “I didn’t think some whistle-blower b*tch in my office was going to rat me out to the media and the f**king FBI… God, she did me so dirty.”
“They have everything, Tim. My accounts. My emails,” he adds.
When Timothy asks what he told the authorities, Kenny replies, “Nothing. I got a f**king lawyer. I should have never gone to Brunei. I should have never taken that position. Everybody was making a killing.”
As they continue to talk, we learn the pair were involved in some sort of “money laundering, bribery” scheme. Oh, and to give you a little insight into Ratliff’s wealth, he says the deal wasn’t even worth it: he only made $10 million.
Even though Kenny’s lawyered up – and he tells Tim to get a good attorney “like, yesterday” – he confirms they’re both implicated.
As Kenny continues to freak out, Timothy tells him, “I swear to God, Kenny, if you f**k me on this, I will kill you.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m gonna f**king kill myself,” Kenny replies. Timothy finishes the call by saying, “Good, you do it you piece of sh*t.”
The White Lotus fans give “standing ovation”
Instagram: @kehuyquanEven though we don’t see his face, Quan’s performance is second to none. His frantic, profanity-laced meltdown transforms what should be a tense moment into comedy gold – and many White Lotus fans agree.
“Standing ovation from my living room when I heard Ke Huy Quan,” wrote one on X/Twitter, while another said, “Immediately ran to the Internet to see if I did in fact hear Ke Huy Quan’s voice in The White Lotus.”
A third added, “The White Lotus and its cheeky little celebrity phone call cameos… Laura Dern in Season 2 and now Ke Huy Quan in Season 3! Cute.”
Quan himself even confirmed the news on his latest Instagram Story, where he shared a screenshot of a tweet about his White Lotus Season 3 cameo. Alongside the image, he wrote, “Surprise! I guess the secret is out.”
The White Lotus Season 3 Episodes 1-2 are streaming on Max now, with Episode 3 set to drop on March 2. Until then, stay up to date with our Episode 1 recap and why the lorazepam plot is darker than you think.
