Dustin Nguyen

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.{{cite news|last=Knutzen|first=Eirik|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/472841481.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+04%2C+1987&author=Eirik+Knutzen&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=One+Jump+ahead&pqatl=google|title=One Jump ahead|date=July 4, 1987|newspaper=Toronto Star|access-date=October 20, 2012|archive-date=July 2, 2016|archive-url=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|url-status=dead}} The family left Vietnam in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon.{{cite news|last= Chen |first= Vivien Lou|title= Jobless Actor Rejects Asian Stereotypes Series|work= Los Angeles Times|date=May 1, 1992|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-01-me-1314-story.html|access-date=March 11, 2011}}

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.{{cite news|last=Brennan |first=Patricia |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=http://cglass.vinu.edu/21js/21art5.html |title=Dustin Nguyen Out Of Saigon And into TV |date=December 13, 1987 |publisher=cglass.vinu.edu |access-date=October 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110083640/http://cglass.vinu.edu/21js/21art5.html |archive-date=January 10, 2008 }} 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.

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.[https://mochimag.com/news/entertainment/dustin-nguyen-profile Dustin Nguyen: A Man Ahead of His Time], November 22, 2019 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.{{cite news|last=Chang|first=Richard|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vietnamese-international-film-2350080-festival-viff|title=Vietnamese film festival returns to O.C.|date=March 31, 2009|publisher=ocregister.com|access-date=October 20, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609231043/http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vietnamese-international-film-2350080-festival-viff|archive-date=June 9, 2009}} 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){{cite web|first=Todd |last=Brown|url=https://screenanarchy.com/2008/11/dustin-nguyen-returns-in-vietnamese-action-drama-the-legend-is-alive-huyn-t.html|title=Dustin Nguyen Returns in Vietnamese Action Drama THE LEGEND IS ALIVE (HUYỀN THOẠI BẤT TỬ)|date=November 27, 2008|work=ScreenAnarchy|access-date=January 7, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=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|archive-date=October 1, 2017}} 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2014/06/11/21-Jump-Street-veteran-plays-Vietnamese-Jesus-Christ-in-big-screen-sequel/5201402429182/|title='21 Jump Street' veteran plays Vietnamese Jesus Christ in big-screen sequel|work=United Press International|access-date=November 30, 2016}}

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.{{Cite news|url=http://screenanarchy.com/2015/01/gentle-watch-dustin-nguyen-in-vietnamese-dostoyevsky-adaptation.html|title=GENTLE: Watch Dustin Nguyen In Vietnamese Dostoyevsky Adaptation|last=Brown|first=Todd|date=January 23, 2015|newspaper=ScreenAnarchy|access-date=November 30, 2016}}

He was cast in Cinemax's Warrior in a recurring role before he officially joined the main cast in season two of the series.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/05/warrior-cast-season-2-cinemax-series-dustin-nguyen-promoted-1202610818/|title='Warrior' Casts Four For Season 2 Of Cinemax Drama Series; Promotes Dustin Nguyen To Regular|last=Petski|first=Denise|date=May 9, 2019|publisher=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=May 14, 2019}}

Nguyen also was cast in The Accidental Getaway Driver which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.{{Cite web |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |last2=Patten |first2=Dominic |date=December 7, 2022 |title=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 |url=https://deadline.com/2022/12/sundance-film-festival-2023-lineup-1235191713/ |access-date=January 17, 2023 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}

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.

• A Tourist's Guide to Love (2023)– Consulting Producer{{Cite web |title=Netflix's "A Tourist's Guide To Love" Rounds Out Cast |url=https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflixs-a-tourists-guide-to-love-rounds-out-cast |access-date=February 1, 2023 |website=About Netflix |language=en}}{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
• 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)

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).{{cite web|first=Todd|last=Brown|url=https://screenanarchy.com/2009/03/dustin-nguyen-star-vehicle-the-legend-is-alive-dominates-the-vietnamese-gol.html|title=Dustin Nguyen Star Vehicle The Legend is Alive Dominates The Vietnamese Golden Kite Awards|date=March 3, 2009|work=ScreenAnarchy|access-date=January 7, 2021}}{{cite news|url=http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Life-Style/195254/culture-vulture.html|title=culture vulture|date=December 24, 2009|work=vnagency.com|access-date=October 20, 2012}}

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.

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• {{IMDb name|id=0629006|name=Dustin Nguyen}}
• {{cite web|url=http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=4ef6c10bc196e4b43cd5bde047bef6db|title=No 'Little Fish'|author=Lisa Lee|date=July 7, 2006|publisher=AsianWeek.com|access-date=January 17, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016122019/http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=4ef6c10bc196e4b43cd5bde047bef6db|archive-date=October 16, 2007|url-status=dead}}
• {{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_3_18/ai_83343028|title=V.I.P moves are no Hollywood make-believe|author=Allan Donnelly|date=March 2002|publisher=Men's Fitness|access-date=January 17, 2008}}
• {{cite news|url=http://www.nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=56370&print=yes|title=Dustin's destiny|date=March 1, 2007|publisher=Nguoi Viet Daily News|access-date=July 30, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805101644/http://www.nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=56370&print=yes|archive-date=August 5, 2009}}

{{Eisner Award for Best Painter/Digital Artist}}

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Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:21st-century American male actors

Category:Living people

Category:Male actors from Ho Chi Minh City

Category:Vietnamese expatriates in the United States

Category:Expatriate male actors in the United States

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:Male actors from California

Category:American male taekwondo practitioners

Category:Vietnamese male taekwondo practitioners

Category:American Jeet Kune Do practitioners

Category:Male actors from St. Louis

Category:Vietnamese emigrants to the United States

Category:Vietnamese male television actors

Category:Vietnamese male film actors

Category:American actors of Vietnamese descent

Category:Male actors of Vietnamese descent

Category:21st-century Vietnamese male actors

Category:20th-century Vietnamese male actors

Category:20th-century American sportsmen

Category:Date of birth missing (living people)