Dustin Nguyen Explained

Dustin Nguyen
Birth Name:Nguyễn Xuân Trí
Birth Date:17 September 1962
Birth Place:Saigon, South Vietnam
Nationality:
Years Active:1985–present
Spouse:
    Children:3[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. His mother, My Le, was an actress and dancer, and his father, Xuân Phát, was an actor, comedian, writer, and producer in Vietnam.[4] The family left Vietnam in April 1975 during the Fall of Saigon.[5]

    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] 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 and majored in communications but later dropped out to pursue acting full time.

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

    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.[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

    Year Title Role Notes
    1985 Sunset StripChinese Youth
    1991 Earth AngelPeter
    1992 Rapid FirePaul Yang
    1993 No Escape, No ReturnTommy Cuff
    Heaven & EarthSau
    1994 3 Ninjas Kick BackGlam
    Vanishing Son IIHung
    Vanishing Son IV
    1995 VirtuositySuburban Reporter
    The Doom GenerationQuickiemart Clerk
    1998 Hundred PercentIsaac
    2003 The Break
    2005 Little FishJonny Actor
    2007 Troy Poon
    Saigon EclipseKim
    The RebelSy Actor
    2009 The Legend Is AliveLongActor
    2010 Fool for LoveDung
    Floating LivesVo Actor
    2011 The GauntletJin-Soo
    Popular DysfunctionsComandante Chitt
    2013 Once Upon a Time in VietnamDao Director/Actor
    2014 22 Jump StreetVietnamese Jesus/Harry Truman Ioki Cameo
    2015 The Man with the Iron Fists 2Li Kung Actor
    JackpotTu Nghia Director/Actor
    Zero ToleranceJohnny Actor
    GentleThien Actor
    2016 I'll WaitDirector
    2017 Voodoo DollHung Actor
    2022 Blade of the 47 RoninLord Nikko Actor
    2023The Accidental Getaway DriverTâyActor

    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"
    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"
    2019–2023WarriorZingRecurring (season 1); main role (season 2)[15]
    TBASinking SpringHo DinhUpcoming miniseries

    Producer

    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.

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Dustin Nguyen on Instagram: "Missing my princesses.".
    2. News: 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. May 24, 1994. March 11, 2011. Robert. Levine.
    3. Web site: People. dustin nguyen 21 jump street star on life in vietnam.
    4. News: Knutzen. Eirik. One Jump ahead. July 4, 1987. Toronto Star. October 20, 2012. July 2, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160702000520/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/doc/435598102.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul%2004,%201987&author=Eirik%20Knutzen&pub=Toronto%20Star&edition=&startpage=&desc=One%20Jump%20ahead. dead.
    5. News: Chen . Vivien Lou. Jobless Actor Rejects Asian Stereotypes Series. Los Angeles Times. May 1, 1992. March 11, 2011.
    6. News: Brennan . Patricia . The Washington Post . Dustin Nguyen Out Of Saigon And into TV . December 13, 1987 . cglass.vinu.edu . October 20, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080110083640/http://cglass.vinu.edu/21js/21art5.html . January 10, 2008 .
    7. https://mochimag.com/news/entertainment/dustin-nguyen-profile Dustin Nguyen: A Man Ahead of His Time
    8. News: Chang. Richard. Vietnamese film festival returns to O.C.. March 31, 2009. ocregister.com. October 20, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090609231043/http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vietnamese-international-film-2350080-festival-viff. June 9, 2009.
    9. Web site: Todd . Brown. Dustin Nguyen Returns in Vietnamese Action Drama THE LEGEND IS ALIVE (HUYỀN THOẠI BẤT TỬ). November 27, 2008. ScreenAnarchy. January 7, 2021. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171001180127/http://screenanarchy.com/2008/11/dustin-nguyen-returns-in-vietnamese-action-drama-the-legend-is-alive-huyn-t.html. October 1, 2017.
    10. News: '21 Jump Street' veteran plays Vietnamese Jesus Christ in big-screen sequel. United Press International. November 30, 2016.
    11. News: GENTLE: Watch Dustin Nguyen In Vietnamese Dostoyevsky Adaptation. Brown. Todd. January 23, 2015. ScreenAnarchy. November 30, 2016.
    12. Web site: 'Warrior' Casts Four For Season 2 Of Cinemax Drama Series; Promotes Dustin Nguyen To Regular. Petski. Denise. May 9, 2019. Deadline Hollywood. May 14, 2019.
    13. Web site: 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 . January 17, 2023 . Deadline . en-US.
    14. News: Dustin Nguyen: 21 Jump Street Star on Life in Vietnam. February 25, 2015. People. November 30, 2016.
    15. Web site: Perry Yung on Instagram: "#dustinnguyen in da house! It's getting hot in here now. #hbo #CinemaxWarrior". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BhuXDRZjFmd . December 24, 2021 . limited. Instagram. July 3, 2018.
    16. Web site: Netflix's "A Tourist's Guide To Love" Rounds Out Cast . February 1, 2023 . About Netflix . en.
    17. Web site: Todd. Brown. Dustin Nguyen Star Vehicle The Legend is Alive Dominates The Vietnamese Golden Kite Awards. March 3, 2009. ScreenAnarchy. January 7, 2021.
    18. News: culture vulture. December 24, 2009. vnagency.com. October 20, 2012.