Dustin Nguyen

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 V.I.P.<ref name="losangelestimes-1994">Template:Cite news</ref> Recently, he starred 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.<ref name="dustin nguyen 21 jump street star on life in vietnam">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life

Nguyen was born Nguyễn Xuân Trí in Saigon, South Vietnam, and was one of two sons in his family.<ref name=":0" /> His mother, My Le, was an actress and dancer, and his father, Xuân Phát, was an actor, comedian, writer, and producer in Vietnam.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The family left Vietnam in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon.<ref name="losangelestimes-1992">Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="losangelestimes-1992" /><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> The 21 Jump Street season 2 episode "Christmas in Saigon", which first aired in December 1987, is based in his experiences escaping Vietnam and eventually arriving in the United States; Nguyen also served as a technical advisor in the episode.

Nguyen graduated from Garden Grove High School in Garden Grove, California, he attended Orange Coast College<ref name="losangelestimes-1994" /> and majored in communications but later dropped out to pursue acting full time.<ref name=":0" />

Nguyen practices several martial arts including Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Eskrima, and Jeet Kune Do.<ref name="losangelestimes-1992" />

Career

He made his acting debut on Magnum, P.I., portraying a Cambodian freedom fighter in the episode "All For One." He was a series regular 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 had 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.<ref>Dustin Nguyen: A Man Ahead of His Time, November 22, 2019</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He was cast in Cinemax's Warrior in a recurring role before he officially joined the main cast in season two of the series.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Nguyen also was cast in The Accidental Getaway Driver which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 paraplegic, 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 four daughters.

He is fluent in English and Vietnamese.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Sunset Strip	Chinese Youth
1991	Earth Angel	Peter
1992	Rapid Fire	Paul Yang
1993	No Escape, No Return	Tommy Cuff
	Heaven & Earth	Sau
1994	3 Ninjas Kick Back	Glam
	Vanishing Son II	Hung
	Vanishing Son IV
1995	Virtuosity	Suburban Reporter
	The Doom Generation	Quickiemart Clerk
1998	Hundred Percent	Isaac
2003	The Break
2005	Little Fish	Jonny	Actor
2007	Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee	Troy Poon
	Saigon Eclipse	Kim
	The Rebel	Sy	Actor
2009	The Legend Is Alive	Long	Actor
2010	Fool for Love	Dung
	Floating Lives	Vo	Actor
2011	The Gauntlet	Jin-Soo
	Popular Dysfunctions	Comandante Chitt
2013	Once Upon a Time in Vietnam	Dao	Director/Actor
2014	22 Jump Street	Vietnamese Jesus/Harry Truman Ioki	Cameo
2015	The Man with the Iron Fists 2	Li Kung	Actor
	Jackpot	Tu Nghia	Director/Actor
	Zero Tolerance	Johnny	Actor
	Gentle	Thien	Actor
2016	I'll Wait		Director
2017	Voodoo Doll	Hung	Actor
2022	Blade of the 47 Ronin	Lord Nikko	Actor
2023	The Accidental Getaway Driver	Tây	Actor

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	General Hospital	Suki
1985	Magnum, P.I.	Joe	2 episodes
1986	The A-Team	Bobby	Episode: "Point of No Return"
1987	Shell Game	Doug	Episode: "Pai Gow"
1987–1990	21 Jump Street	Officer Harry Truman Ioki	Main role (seasons 1–4); 82 episodes
1989	Danger Bay	Duk Chin	Episode: "Open Book"
1992	The Commish	Robert Hue	Episode: "Charlie Don't Surf"
	Street Justice		Episode: "Bad Choices"
	Highlander	Chu Lin	Episode: "The Road Not Taken"
1993	Murder, She Wrote	David Kuan	Episode: "A Death in Hong Kong"
	Highlander	Jimmy Sang	Episode: "Revenge of the Sword"
	SeaQuest DSV	Chief William Shan	4 episodes
1994–1996	Phantom 2040	Tranh	5 episodes
1995	Vanishing Son	Hung	Episode: "Single Flame"
	VR.5	Ky Buchanan	Episode: "Simon's Choice"
	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Lo Gee	Episode: "Flying Fists of Fury II"
1997	Die Gang	Marc Wiessner	Main role; 13 episodes
1999–2002	VIP	Johnny Loh	Main role (seasons 3–4); 62 episodes
2003	JAG	Lt. Bao Hien	Episode: "Fortunate Son"
2009	The Unit	Transit Officer	Episode: "Chaos Theory"
2011	Gordon's Great Escape	Guest	Episode 2.2: "Vietnam"
2012	The Amazing Race Vietnam	Host	Season 1
2018	This Is Us	Bao	Episode: "Sometimes"
2019–2023	Warrior	Zing	citation	CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>
2025	Dope Thief	Son Pham	Upcoming miniseries

Producer

• A Tourist's Guide to Love (2023)– Consulting Producer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Citation needed

• The Amazing Race Vietnam 2012 (2012) – Himself
• CinemAbility (2011) (filming) – 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).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.

External links

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