Ke Huy Quan on Joining ‘Loki’ for Season 2 & Hopes for O.B.’s Future in the MCU
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Loki, Season 2, Episode 6, “Glorious Purpose.”]
It’s safe to say that Loki introduced one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most loveable characters in its second season as Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan joined the fray as TVA Repairs & Advancements Department head O.B., otherwise known as Ouroboros.
As he tinkered away to try and help God of Mischief, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and the team resolve time-sensitive issues ranging from time slipping to an overloaded Temporal Loom, O.B. was a beacon of light during some of the season’s darker moments, even as he uttered phrases like, “We’re all gonna die!” Despite only playing a part in the show’s second season, he was a seamless addition to the strong ensemble, carving a path for his (hopefully inevitable), possible return for future MCU outings.
Following the lift of the SAG-AFTRA strike, TV Insider caught up with Ke Huy Quan to discuss his arrival in the MCU, O.B. fan theories, that TVA Handbook, set souvenirs and hopes for future projects with the franchise. Below, learn how the actor found out about his new role, as well as a secret Goonies connection to Loki, and much more.
(Credit: Gareth Gatrell/© 2023 MARVEL)
You’re in the MCU! What was your initial reaction to being cast and was it tough keeping such big secrets?
Ke Huy Quan: Well, first, I’ve got to give a shout-out to our casting director, Sarah Finn. She suggested to Kevin Feige that I would be perfect for Ouroboros. And when I read the script for the first time, I instantly fell in love with this character. It was so well-written and defined on the pages, and I give a lot of credit to our showrunner, Kevin Wright, and our head writer Eric Martin. O.B.’s not based on comic books. They created this wonderful character. And I was just so fortunate to be given the opportunity to play him because ever since I became an actor, again, joining the MCU was at the top of my wishlist.
When our movie Everything Everywhere All at Once came out, I think it was playing in two markets, only Los Angeles and New York. And all of a sudden my agent said, Kevin Feige is going to give you a call. And I didn’t know what it was about. My heart started pounding. I was so excited. And I remember I was in a meeting at that time, they told me Kevin was going to call. I set my alarm clock and I told the person I was having a meeting with when the alarm went off, I needed to leave. And I couldn’t tell them why. I have to keep all of this a secret. Not soon after I got a call and I picked it up, [it was Kevin].
(Credit: Gareth Gatrell/© 2023 MARVEL)
I was driving and he goes on and on about telling me how much he loved Everything Everywhere All at Once. And he asked me, “We would love for you to join the MCU family.” I said, “Kevin, can you please give me two seconds?” I was driving, my eyes started tearing up. I couldn’t see the road. I pulled the car over. I said, “Okay, Kevin, please continue.” He said, “We would want you to play Ouroboros. It’s a great character.” And I was so excited that I was going to join the MCU family, but I couldn’t tell my family. It was deja vu. Again, only my wife knew, and my entertainment attorney, Jeff Cohen knew, and my agents. When [my family] did find out, they all freaked out because they are some of the biggest MCU fans out there.
Fans were so excited to see you on their screens, but a lot of theories were swirling around O.B. about whether he was going to be good or a possible villain. Was that something you kept track of as the season unfolded?
As you know, we were on strike, so a lot of us actors were very busy, very busy [Laughs]. We didn’t have anything to do. When our show came out, I really wanted to go on and promote the show because I’m so proud of it. I went online to see a little bit of the fans’ reaction. I know the fans are very, very passionate about Loki the character, and about anything that Marvel does. It was a lot of fun to read some of the theories, and you’ve got to give it to them. They’re so creative, they’re very creative. They even took it in directions where I go, “Oh wow, that’s interesting.” But of course, knowing how the show ends, I was just so excited. I couldn’t wait for them to see all six episodes. I’m so happy to be a part of this. I think it’s one of the best shows that I’m very fortunate to be a part of, but also I think it’s one of the best shows from Marvel.
(Credit: Gareth Gatrell/© 2023 MARVEL)
O.B. is a scientist, but we learn in reality, his counterpart A.D. Doug is a passionate sci-fi writer, which comes out of O.B. in the form of the TVA Handbook. Did you approach O.B. from a writer perspective or did you not know about his A.D. Doug life until later in filming?
I didn’t get to read Episode 5 [before]. That’s when we find out that O.B.’s A.D. Doug on the sacred timeline. So in the very beginning, I focused on playing the character O.B., which I fell in love with instantly when I read him. But also what was interesting was when I started to play him, all of a sudden I felt this familiarity with this character more than any other characters that I’ve played. And I realized that, wow, this could be a variant of Data from The Goonies. What’s interesting is on the very first day I walked onto the Ouroboros set and I looked up, they built that set on the second-biggest stage at Pinewood Studios. And that stage was called Roger Moore, and as you know, Data loves 007. So to be able to play Ouroboros on the Roger Moore stage, there is some cosmic connection there that I really love. And I’m so happy the audience loves him as much as I do.
That’s so wonderful. That’s so serendipitous, but also very connected to what this show is about, which is these innate qualities of these characters coming out in different ways because A.D. Doug was a writer and he has his TVA Handbook for everyone at the TVA. Speaking of the handbook, fans couldn’t help but notice your tossing of the handbook to Loki in that hallway scene in Episode 1. How many takes did you have to shoot of that scene?
For me, as an actor, that was the most difficult shot that I had to do for the entire series. Because the dialogue was very difficult to say. And I had so much stuff to do. I have to walk, I have to take out my key, plug it in, open the door, get the TVA Handbook, throw it perfectly, and at the end of that shot, that light on the ceiling was rigged to explode. And it’s all timed and it takes 45 minutes to reset.
Oh my gosh. That’s a lot of pressure.
And that is all in one shot. So there was a lot of pressure. Owen Wilson was carrying the Throughput Multiplier, which is really heavy. And I’m leading the pack. I have to throw [the book] behind me perfectly so Tom can catch it. Needless to say, it was a lot of pressure. And I think in the first few takes, I kept messing up my lines, and then when I did get my lines, I would throw the book so out of line that Tom would miss it. But we did a total of 10 takes, and let me tell you, this is to Tom Hiddleston’s credit. He caught it like eight out of 10 times. He’s so good at that. In fact, he taught me how to throw it. He says, “Ke, throw it this way,” [Ke mimics the throw over Zoom]. He showed it to me, and he said, “Throw it over the shoulder this way and I’ll catch it.” And he was right. I did it, and he caught it almost every single time.
That’s impressive. And at the same time, you had to deliver a ton of technical jargon in your dialogue. Was it ever tough memorizing all that?
In the very beginning, it was very difficult. It was very hard. Like saying Throughput Multiplier and the Temporal Loom for the first time. But then, yes, it got a little easier because I would have all these long expositions and so did Tom. So I asked him, I said, “Tom, how do you do it? How do you memorize these lines?” He told me his method, and it actually worked. But then you have to put in the work. Honestly, shooting Loki was such a wonderful experience. I loved it so much. We were a big family, even though the scale of this production, of all Marvel productions, is huge.
Every single person on the set in front of and behind the camera — we had the best crew in London. They were just so happy to be a part of this because a lot of the crew were from Season 1 and knowing that we became the very first series from Marvel to get a Season 2. So this second time around, there was a lot more pressure. But also the writing was just so good. And Tom is a great leader. I learned so much from him. He’s such a great actor, such a great human being, and a great leader. When I walked onto the set the first time, they all welcomed me with wide open arms, and I felt so welcomed and loved and cared for.
When it comes to O.B. in the MCU, he’s still working at the TVA, trying to rehabilitate Miss Minutes, and help the rest of the team. Is there any hope he might reappear down the line?
I asked Kevin Feige this very question when he first called me. I said, “Kevin, is this a one-time thing or we’re going to be able to see more of O.B.?” And he said, “Ke, we always give what the fans want.” So hopefully the fans love O.B. and we will see. But again, I don’t know what’s going to happen to this character. I really love him. I love playing him. But when you think about it, who is this guy who worked in the basement of the TVA for more than 400 years, yet he still approaches work every single day with so much enthusiasm, so much passion? He’s been alone this entire time. He never complained, he never sleeps. And I’m so happy that we’re able to get him out of the Repairs & Advancements Department, and he’s made some wonderful friends. So I don’t know. Fingers crossed. I hope that we get to see more of him.
When it comes to a Marvel production, some stars take a little souvenir home with them. Did you manage to snag anything from the set?
Oh, I got to show you this. This is really cool. [Ke gets up from his chair to retrieve an unknown item]. Okay. So you’ve got to understand when you do a Marvel show, they never let you take anything home. I loved my costume. We have the amazing Christine Wada who created this amazing jumpsuit, which I wanted but I couldn’t get. I wanted the TVA Handbook that I wrote, but they’re very, very strict. After I won the Oscar [for Everything Everywhere All at Once], Marvel Studios gave me a present. Look at this [holds up TVA canister from O.B.’s Repairs & Advancements Department] This came in.
That’s amazing!
And then inside the canister [Ke holds up a TemPad] I will treasure this for the rest of my life. This is what I got from Loki, thanks to the generosity of Kevin Feige and the entire team at Marvel. So I’m so happy, and I’m so excited to be part of this Loki family.
Loki, Seasons 1-2, Streaming now, Disney+
