The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is the most contentious of the first three "Indiana Jones" movies. Director Steven Spielberg's filmmaking instincts are sharp as ever, as is Harrison Ford's charisma, and even before the mine tunnel sequence, the film moves like a roller coaster in the best way possible.

But in aping early 20th-century pulp, the film inherits their exoticized distortions of non-American cultures. "Temple of Doom" is mostly set in British-occupied India, but the villains are not these colonizers. No, Indy and co. face off against an indigenous threat: the vicious Thuggee cult that enslaves children and makes human sacrifices to the Hindu god Kali. I'm admittedly not an expert on Indian culture (nor were the writers of the movie), so I'll defer to one who is; Indian-Canadian writer Saffron Maeve has taken the film to task over at Little White Lies. Otherwise, I'll let the fact that "Temple of Doom" was banned from screening in India speak for itself.

I think "Temple of Doom" is a fun time, but if you can't stomach the disgusting Orientalism, I get it. It celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024, so it's a good enough year as any to meditate on its tarnished legacy. Amazingly enough, despite this time-lapse, many of the films' stars are still with us.

Despite all the physical punishment that Indiana Jones endures on his adventures, he has a talent for dodging death, and lived to old age. His actor, Harrison Ford, shares that luck; much like Indy does at the end of "Temple of Doom" Act One, Ford survived a plane crash in 2015.

After "Temple of Doom," Ford's best years were ahead of him. He wrapped up the "Indiana Jones" trilogy with "The Last Crusade," tested his dramatic skills as the unlikable lead in "The Mosquito Coast," and endured as a top movie star into the 1990s — he spent that decade appearing mostly in top-shelf thrillers like "The Fugitive" and "Air Force One."

As the 21st century rolled in, Ford got dragged back to his most famous roles (I'm guessing the presumable dump trucks full of money didn't hurt), playing Indy in 2008's "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and Han Solo in 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." In 2023, Ford played Indiana Jones for the fifth and most likely final time in "Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny."

He intends to take the role to his grave, telling NBC in 2019: "I'm Indiana Jones. When I'm gone, he's gone."

Indiana Jones is like Allan Quatermain crossed with James Bond (there's a reason Sean Connery played Jones Sr. in "The Last Crusade"). So, in keeping with the Bond Girl tradition, Indy has a new love interest in each of the original three movies. "Temple of Doom" features easily the least popular of them: Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), a nightclub singer in Shanghai who gets, well, shanghaied onto the adventure. A finicky damsel in distress, Willie never feels like more than a brief fling for Indy (but you could argue she was meant to).

Willie is played by Kate Capshaw and "Temple of Doom" changed her life. Not because it was a breakout part, but because she met her future husband while making it. In 1991, she became Kate Spielberg; she and Steven have five children together.

Capshaw kept acting up through the 1990s, appearing in fantasy B-Movie "Dreamscape," Ridley Scott's cop + yakuza thriller "Black Rain," and the Sam Elliot western "The Quick and the Dead" (not to be confused with the Sam Raimi one). Since the 2000s, Capshaw has remained retired. These days, she's redirected her creative spirit towards painting.

Rounding out the film's heroic trio is Short Round, or Shorty, a 12-year-old Chinese orphan and Indy's sidekick, played by Vietnamese-American child actor Ke Huy Quan.

In the following year, 1985, Quan played Data in "The Goonies." Sadly, his career largely stalled after this due to a lack of opportunities for Asian actors in Hollywood. From 2002 to 2021, he took a hiatus from acting. During this time, he worked as a choreographer (including on the original "X-Men") and assistant film director (such as on Wong Kar-Wai's "2046").

Quan had a long-delayed career renaissance in 2022 with "Everything Everywhere All At Once," the multiverse (and genre) hopping sci-fi action movie. He played Waymond Wang, husband of the film's hero Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh), and is the lynchpin of what /Film dubbed the best movie moment of 2022 ("In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you"). For Waymond, Quan got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. His career reboot has continued with a supporting part in "Loki" season 2 last year.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2022, Quan said he has "nothing but fond memories" of making "Temple of Doom." Just look at his joyous reunion with Harrison Ford that same year.

When Indy and co. arrive in Pankot (the fictional Indian province where the Thuggees are secretly operating), they're greeted by the friendly face of Chattar Lal. Played by Roshan Seth, Lal serves as the Prime Minister to Pankot's child ruler, Maharajah Zalim Singh (played by Raj Singh, who these days works as a flight controller in Chicago). Unfortunately, Singh has been brainwashed by the Thuggees into a puppet ruler. Lal serves them too, though it's not clear if he was brainwashed like Singh or is a true believer.

Seth was born in British India himself in 1942 (five years before the imperialists vacated the country). He moved to England, graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and worked as an actor during the 1960s. Unfortunately, the racism he faced in getting parts sent him back home in the following decade. In India, he pivoted to working as a journalist, but his original vocation soon came calling.

In 1982, Seth starred in Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi" as Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of post-British India. That role brought him to international attention and surely helped him be cast in "Temple of Doom." In the forty years since, he's continued to steadily work in American, British, and Indian film/TV.

"Temple of Doom" takes place primarily in India, but the cold open unfolds in Shanghai. Indy is double-crossed by one of his clients, local crime boss Lao Che (the late Hong Kong actor Roy Chiao). Thuggee leader Mola Rom (the late Amrish Puri) is the main villain of the film, but Lao gets just as close to killing Indy thanks to a poisoned drink.

Lao is backed up by his sons, Chen (Chua Kah Joo) and Kao Kan (Ric Young); only the latter makes it out alive. Young isn't exactly a household name, but he has some more notable credits on his resume. He appeared as Mao Zedong in Oliver's Stone "Nixon" (the eponymous character was the President who formalized U.S. relations with Communist China) and the Chinese drug lord Khun Sa in "American Gangster."

Young has worked in television too, playing the torturer Dr. Zhang Lee in the spy drama "Alias." While he hasn't racked up new credits since 2012, he's still with us.

Not everyone during the Shanghai opening is trying to kill Indy. His old friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) does not appear in "The Temple of Doom," but filling a similar role as Indy's local backup is Wu Han (played by actor David Yip in his film debut). Disguised as a waiter, Han comes to Indy's aid during his stand-off with Lao Che, trying to get the poison antidote at gunpoint.

Unfortunately, Wu Han doesn't enjoy the same longevity as Sallah; distracted by a champagne bottling popping, he's gunned down by Chen and his last words are, "I've followed you on many adventures, but into the great unknown mystery, I go first, Indy!"

Mr. Yip, though, is still alive. He first came to prominence in 1981 starring in the BBC series "The Chinese Detective," and the year after "The Temple of Doom," he appeared in the James Bond movie "A View To Kill" as CIA agent Chuck Lee. He's continued working steadily to this day, but has enjoyed his most consistent work on TV (he played Chinese President Wei in "24: Live Another Day") and in British theatre.

Here's a cameo you may have missed: Dan Aykroyd plays Weber, the mustachioed British officer who secures Indy, Willie, and Shorty spots on a plane flying out of Shanghai (unfortunately, it's owned by Lao Che).

Aykroyd, one of the debut cast members on "Saturday Night Live," had previously appeared in Spielberg's World War II comedy "1941." He had two career-defining roles in the 1980s; "The Blues Brothers," acting alongside the late John Belushi, and Dr. Ray Stantz in "Ghostbusters" (plus its lesser-regarded sequel). This was a surprisingly personal role for Aykroyd, who believes in the occult. That said, Ray is the most hapless Ghostbuster (he accidentally summons the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow man in the climax), compared to the sarcastic Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), brainy Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and working stiff Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson).

Aykroyd was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for "Driving Mrs. Daisy" in 1989, but his attempts to become a director were stifled by the failure of 1991's "Nothing But Trouble." That said, he's still kept busy, even outside of acting; he co-founded the House of Blues venue chain.

Like "Indiana Jones," "Ghostbusters" is one of those 1980s cultural artifacts the kids who grew up on it can't let go of, so we'll be seeing Aykroyd play Ray once more in this year's "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire."