Dustin Nguyen

Dustin Nguyen (born September 17, 1962) is an Vietnamese-American actor, director, writer, and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Harry Truman Ioki on 21 Jump Street, and as Johnny Loh on VIP[1] In films, he is known for starring in Little Fish, The Doom Generation and The Rebel.[2]

This article is about the actor. For the comic book artist, see Dustin Nguyen (comics).

Dustin Nguyen
Born
Nguyễn Xuân Trí

(1962-09-17) September 17, 1962
Saigon, South Vietnam
OccupationActor, director, writer, martial artist
Years active1985–present
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2001; div. 2012)​

​
(m. 2012)​

Early life

Born as Nguyễn Xuân Trí in Saigon, South Vietnam, his mother My Le, was an actress and dancer, and his father, Xuan Phat, was an actor, comedian, writer, and producer in South Vietnam.[3] The family left Vietnam in April 1975 as it fell to Communist Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces.[4]

They arrived in Guam, then the family was moved to a refugee camp in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, and finally with the assistance of a Methodist church they relocated to Des Peres, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.[4][5] After Nguyen graduated from Garden Grove High School in Garden Grove, CA, he attended Orange Coast College[1] and majored in communications. Nguyen practices several martial arts including Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Eskrima, and Jeet Kune Do.[4]

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.[6] 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.[7] 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)[8] where he plays a mentally disabled martial artist. Nguyen screened in 2009 the Thriller The Gauntlet under the Direction from Matt Eskandari and stars alongside Chinese actress star Bai Ling. He has made a small cameo in 22 Jump Street as Vietnamese Jesus as an Easter egg to his own participation as a main cast member in the original 21 Jump Street series.[9]

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, which he also starred in. He recently starred in the Vietnamese film Gentle that premiered at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival where he received strong reception for his performance.[10]

He was cast in Cinemax's Warrior season one in a recurring role before he officially joined the main cast in season two of the series.[11]

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 that left his wife (Angela Rockwood-Nguyen) a quadriplegic, Nguyen and his wife became active in The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center. That accident also claimed the life of Vietnamese actress Thuy Trang, a member of the original cast of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He and Rockwood divorced in 2011.

Dustin Nguyen is based in Vietnam full-time. In 2011, he married Vietnamese actress-model Bebe Pham with whom he has two daughters, Sky (b. 2013) and Scarlett (b. 2015).[12]

Filmography

Film
YearTitle RoleNotes
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

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1983General HospitalSuki
1985Magnum, P.I.Joe2 episodes
1986The A-TeamBobbyEpisode: "Point of No Return"
1987Shell GameDougEpisode: "Pai Gow"
1987–9021 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
1994–96Phantom 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"
2012The Amazing Race VietnamhostSeason 1
2018This Is UsBaoEpisode: "Sometimes"
2019–present Warrior[13] Zing Recurring (season 1); Main role (season 2)

Producer
  • The Amazing Race Vietnam (2012) – Himself
  • 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards (2007) – 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)

In production
  • CinemAbility (2011) (filming) – Himself
  • The Slanted Screen (2006) – Himself

Awards

In March 2009, he 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).[14][15] For the same role, that year he won a Golden Lotus Award (Vietnam's Oscar) for Best Actor. And also 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. 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.
  2. "dustin nguyen 21 jump street star on life in vietnam". People.
  3. Knutzen, Eirik (July 4, 1987). "One Jump ahead". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  4. Chen, Vivien Lou (May 1, 1992). "Jobless Actor Rejects Asian Stereotypes Series". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  5. 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.
  6. Dustin Nguyen: A Man Ahead of His Time, Nov 22, 2019
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. "'21 Jump Street' veteran plays Vietnamese Jesus Christ in big-screen sequel". United Press International. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  10. Brown, Todd (January 23, 2015). "GENTLE: Watch Dustin Nguyen In Vietnamese Dostoyevsky Adaptation". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  11. 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.
  12. "Dustin Nguyen: 21 Jump Street Star on Life in Vietnam". People. February 25, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  13. "Perry Yung on Instagram: "#dustinnguyen in da house! It's getting hot in here now. #hbo #CinemaxWarrior"". Instagram. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  14. Brown, Todd (March 3, 2009). "Dustin Nguyen Star Vehicle THE LEGEND IS ALIVE Dominates The Vietnamese Golden Kite Awards". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  15. "culture vulture". vnagency.com. December 24, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
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