Dustin Nguyen
Nguyen at the 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival
Born
Nguyễn Xuân Trí

(1962-09-17) September 17, 1962
Saigon, South Vietnam
Nationality Vietnam
 United States
Occupation(s)Actor, filmmaker, martial artist
Years active1985–present
Spouses
​
​
(m. 2001; div. 2012)​
    ​
    (m. 2012)​
    Children3[1]

    Dustin Nguyen (born Nguyễn Xuân Trí, September 17, 1962) is a Vietnamese-American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Harry Truman Ioki on 21 Jump Street and as Johnny Loh on VIP.[2] Currently, he stars as Zing in the Cinemax/Max martial arts crime drama series Warrior. In film, he is known for starring in Little Fish, The Doom Generation and The Rebel.[3]

    Early life

    Nguyen was born Nguyễn Xuân Trí in Saigon, South Vietnam and was one of two sons in his family.[4] His mother, My Le, was an actress and dancer, and his father, Xuân Phát, was an actor, comedian, writer, and producer in Vietnam.[5] The family left Vietnam in April 1975 during the Fall of Saigon.[6]

    In his teens, his family arrived in Guam as refugees, and then the family was moved to a refugee camp in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. Finally with the assistance of a Methodist church they relocated to Des Peres, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.[6][4] After Nguyen graduated from Garden Grove High School in Garden Grove, CA, he attended Orange Coast College[2] and majored in communications but later dropped out to pursue acting full time.[4]

    Nguyen practices several martial arts including Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Eskrima, and Jeet Kune Do.[6]

    Career

    He made his acting debut on Magnum, P.I., portraying a Cambodian freedom fighter in the episode "All For One." He was a cast member on both 21 Jump Street and VIP, and has guest-starred on a number of other series, including General Hospital, Highlander, and most notably seaQuest DSV, playing the role of Chief William Shan. Moreover, he played a cameo role in Charlie's Angels. Nguyen also auditioned for the role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat, but lost out to Robin Shou.[7] In 1993 he played a Vietnamese man sent off to fight with the Viet Cong, in the film Heaven & Earth. In 2005, Nguyen starred as a former heroin addict opposite Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett in the critically acclaimed Little Fish.[8] He starred in the 2007 films The Rebel and Saigon Eclipse. In 2008 he starred in the Vietnamese martial art film Huyen Thoai Bat Tu (The Legend Is Alive, The Immortal Legend)[9] where he plays a mentally disabled martial artist. Nguyen screened in 2009 the thriller The Gauntlet directed by Matt Eskandari; he stars with Chinese actress Bai Ling. He made a small cameo in 22 Jump Street as Vietnamese Jesus.[10]

    Nguyen continues to act and make films in Vietnam full-time. He made his feature directorial debut in the Vietnamese fantasy film Once Upon a Time in Vietnam, in which he also starred. He then starred in the Vietnamese film Gentle that premiered at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival where he received strong reception for his performance.[11]

    He was cast in Cinemax's Warrior in a recurring role before he officially joined the main cast in season two of the series.[12]

    Nguyen also was cast in The Accidental Getaway Driver which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.[13]

    Personal life

    After a car accident late at night that occurred on September 3, 2001, on California's Interstate 5 Highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles during a Labor Day weekend which left his fiancée, Angela Rockwood, a quadriplegic, Nguyen and Rockwood became active in The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center. The accident also claimed the life of Vietnamese actress Thuy Trang, a member of the original cast of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as the original Yellow Ranger, Trini. He and Rockwood divorced in 2012.

    Nguyen is based in Vietnam full-time. In 2012, he married Vietnamese actress-model Bebe Pham with whom he has two daughters, born in 2013 and 2015.[14]

    He is fluent in English and Vietnamese.

    Filmography

    Film

    YearTitleRoleNotes
    1985Sunset Strip Chinese Youth
    1991Earth Angel Peter
    1992Rapid Fire Paul Yang
    1993No Escape, No Return Tommy Cuff
    1993Heaven & Earth Sau
    19943 Ninjas Kick Back Glam
    1994Vanishing Son II Hung
    1994Vanishing Son IV Hung
    1995Virtuosity Suburban Reporter
    1995The Doom Generation Quickiemart Clerk
    1998Hundred Percent Isaac
    2003The Break
    2005Little Fish JonnyActor
    2007Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee Troy Poon
    2007Saigon Eclipse Kim
    2007The Rebel SyActor
    2009The Legend Is Alive LongActor
    2010Fool for Love Dung
    2010Floating Lives VoActor
    2011The Gauntlet Jin-Soo
    2011Popular Dysfunctions Comandante Chitt
    2013Once Upon a Time in Vietnam DaoDirector/Actor
    201422 Jump Street Vietnamese Jesus/Harry Truman IokiCameo
    2015The Man with the Iron Fists 2 Li KungActor
    2015Jackpot Tu NghiaDirector/Actor
    2015Zero Tolerance JohnnyActor
    2015Gentle ThienActor
    2016I'll Wait Director
    2017Voodoo Doll HungActor
    2022Blade of the 47 Ronin Lord NikkoActor
    2023 The Accidental Getaway Driver Tây Actor

    Television

    YearTitleRoleNotes
    1983General HospitalSuki
    1985Magnum, P.I.Joe2 episodes
    1986The A-TeamBobbyEpisode: "Point of No Return"
    1987Shell GameDougEpisode: "Pai Gow"
    1987–199021 Jump StreetOfficer Harry Truman IokiMain role (seasons 1–4); 82 episodes
    1989Danger BayDuk ChinEpisode: "Open Book"
    1992The CommishRobert HueEpisode: "Charlie Don't Surf"
    1992Street JusticeEpisode: "Bad Choices"
    1992HighlanderChu LinEpisode: "The Road Not Taken"
    1993Murder, She WroteDavid KuanEpisode: "A Death in Hong Kong"
    1993HighlanderJimmy SangEpisode: "Revenge of the Sword"
    1993SeaQuest DSVChief William Shan4 episodes
    1994–1996Phantom 2040Tranh5 episodes
    1995Vanishing SonHungEpisode: "Single Flame"
    1995VR.5Ky BuchananEpisode: "Simon's Choice"
    1995Kung Fu: The Legend ContinuesLo GeeEpisode: "Flying Fists of Fury II"
    1997Die GangMarc WiessnerMain role; 13 episodes
    1999–2002VIPJohnny LohMain role (seasons 3–4); 62 episodes
    2003JAGLt. Bao HienEpisode: "Fortunate Son"
    2009The UnitTransit OfficerEpisode: "Chaos Theory"
    2011Gordon's Great EscapeGuestEpisode 2.2: "Vietnam"
    2012The Amazing Race VietnamHostSeason 1
    2018This Is UsBaoEpisode: "Sometimes"
    2019–present Warrior[15] Zing Recurring (season 1); main role (season 2)
    TBA Sinking Spring Ho Dinh Upcoming miniseries

    Producer

    • CinemAbility (2011) (filming) – Himself
    • The Amazing Race Vietnam (2012) – Himself
    • 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards (2007) – Himself
    • The Slanted Screen (2006) – Himself
    • "E! True Hollywood Story" – Himself (1 episode, 2004)
    • "Howard Stern" – Himself (4 episodes, 1999)
    • "The Howard Stern Radio Show" – Himself (2 episodes, 1999)
    • "Intimate Portrait" – Himself (1 episode)

    Awards

    In March 2009, Nguyen won the Vietnamese Cánh Diều Vàng (Golden Kite Award) for best actor, for his starring role in the Phuoc Sang Films vehicle Huyền Thoại Bất Tử (The Legend Is Alive).[17][18] For the same role, that year he won a Golden Lotus Award (Vietnam's Oscar) for Best Actor. He also won China's Golden Rooster Award for Best International Actor at China's Golden Rooster and Thousand Flowers International Film Festival 2009.

    In 2015, at the Milan International Film Festival, Dustin won the Leonardo da Vinci Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor in the Vietnamese film GENTLE; an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's A GENTLE CREATURE."

    References

    1. ↑ "DUSTIN NGUYEN on Instagram: "Missing my princesses."".
    2. 1 2 Levine, Robert (May 24, 1994). "Taking a Big Leap From 'Jump Street' After finding success in the '80s on the police show, Dustin Nguyen is moving into films and 'seaQuest' while sharpening his martial arts skills. Series: FAST TRACK: Up and Comers in Arts and Entertainment * One in a Series". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
    3. ↑ "dustin nguyen 21 jump street star on life in vietnam". People.
    4. 1 2 3 Brennan, Patricia (December 13, 1987). "Dustin Nguyen Out Of Saigon And into TV". The Washington Post. cglass.vinu.edu. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
    5. ↑ Knutzen, Eirik (July 4, 1987). "One Jump ahead". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
    6. 1 2 3 Chen, Vivien Lou (May 1, 1992). "Jobless Actor Rejects Asian Stereotypes Series". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
    7. ↑ Dustin Nguyen: A Man Ahead of His Time, November 22, 2019
    8. ↑ Chang, Richard (March 31, 2009). "Vietnamese film festival returns to O.C." ocregister.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
    9. ↑ Brown, Todd (November 27, 2008). "Dustin Nguyen Returns in Vietnamese Action Drama THE LEGEND IS ALIVE (HUYỀN THOẠI BẤT TỬ)". ScreenAnarchy. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
    10. ↑ "'21 Jump Street' veteran plays Vietnamese Jesus Christ in big-screen sequel". United Press International. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
    11. ↑ Brown, Todd (January 23, 2015). "GENTLE: Watch Dustin Nguyen In Vietnamese Dostoyevsky Adaptation". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
    12. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 9, 2019). "'Warrior' Casts Four For Season 2 Of Cinemax Drama Series; Promotes Dustin Nguyen To Regular". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
    13. ↑ Patten, Anthony D'Alessandro,Dominic; D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 7, 2022). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Set With Ukraine War, Little Richard, Michael J. Fox, Judy Blume Docs; Pics With Anne Hathaway, Emilia Clarke, Jonathan Majors; More". Deadline. Retrieved January 17, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    14. ↑ "Dustin Nguyen: 21 Jump Street Star on Life in Vietnam". People. February 25, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
    15. ↑ "Perry Yung on Instagram: "#dustinnguyen in da house! It's getting hot in here now. #hbo #CinemaxWarrior"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
    16. ↑ "Netflix's "A Tourist's Guide To Love" Rounds Out Cast". About Netflix. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
    17. ↑ Brown, Todd (March 3, 2009). "Dustin Nguyen Star Vehicle THE LEGEND IS ALIVE Dominates The Vietnamese Golden Kite Awards". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
    18. ↑ "culture vulture". vnagency.com. December 24, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
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