Dustin Nguyen
upscaled by an AI process. . (January 2025) |
Dustin Nguyen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Nguyễn Xuân Trí |
| Nationality |  Vietnam United States |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4[1] |
Dustin Nguyen (born Nguyễn Xuân Trí) is a
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
Nguyen graduated from Garden Grove High School in Garden Grove, California, 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
Career
He made his acting debut on
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,
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 | Recurring (season 1); main role (season 2)[14] |
| 2025 | Dope Thief | Son Pham | Upcoming miniseries |
Producer
- A Tourist's Guide to Love (2023)– Consulting Producer[15][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).[16][17] For the same role, that year he won a Golden Lotus Award (Vietnam's Oscar) for Best Actor. He also won China's
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
- ^ "Dustin Nguyen on Instagram: "Happy Holidays and much Aloha from the NGUYENs to you all."".
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "dustin nguyen 21 jump street star on life in vietnam". People.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ Knutzen, Eirik (July 4, 1987). "One Jump ahead". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ^ a b c Chen, Vivien Lou (May 1, 1992). "Jobless Actor Rejects Asian Stereotypes Series". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
- ^ Dustin Nguyen: A Man Ahead of His Time, November 22, 2019
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "'21 Jump Street' veteran plays Vietnamese Jesus Christ in big-screen sequel". United Press International. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
- ^ Brown, Todd (January 23, 2015). "GENTLE: Watch Dustin Nguyen In Vietnamese Dostoyevsky Adaptation". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Netflix's "A Tourist's Guide To Love" Rounds Out Cast". About Netflix. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Todd (March 3, 2009). "Dustin Nguyen Star Vehicle The Legend is Alive Dominates The Vietnamese Golden Kite Awards". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ "culture vulture". vnagency.com. December 24, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
External links
- Dustin Nguyen at IMDb
- Lisa Lee (July 7, 2006). "No 'Little Fish'". AsianWeek.com. Archived from the originalon October 16, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2008.
- Allan Donnelly (March 2002). "V.I.P moves are no Hollywood make-believe". Men's Fitness. Retrieved January 17, 2008.
- "Dustin's destiny". Nguoi Viet Daily News. March 1, 2007. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
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