Dustin Nguyen Biography

Dustin Nguyen (born September 17, 1962) is a 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 V.I.P. In Films, he's known for starring in Little Fish, The Doom Generation and The Rebel.

Early life

Born as Nguy?n Xun Tr 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. The family left Vietnam in April 1975 as it fell to Communist Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces.

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. After Nguyen graduated from Garden Grove High School in Garden Grove, CA, he attended Orange Coast College and majored in communications. Nguyen practices several martial arts including Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Eskrima, and Jeet Kune Do.

Personal life

After a car accident on September 3, 2001 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-American actress Thuy Trang, a member of the original cast of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He separated from his wife in 2011.

Filmography

He made his acting debut on Magnum, P.I., portraying a Cambodian freedom fighter in the episode "Crouching." He was a cast member on both 21 Jump Street and V.I.P., 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. 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. 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) 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.

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

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	The Amazing Race Vietnam	himself	TV host
2009	The Unit	Transit Officer
2003	JAG	Lt. Bao Hien
1998 - 2002	V.I.P.	Johnny Loh
1997	Die Gang	Marc Wiessner
1995	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Lo Gee
1995	VR.5	Ky Buchanan
1995	Vanishing Son	Hung
1994-96	Phantom 2040	Tranh
1993	SeaQuest DSV	Chief William Shan
1993	Highlander	Jimmy Sang
1993	Murder, She Wrote	David Kuan
1992	Highlander	Chou Lin
1992	Street Justice
1992	The Commish
1987-90	21 Jump Street	Officer Harry Truman Ioki
1989	Danger Bay	Duk Chin
1987	Shell Game	Doug
1986	The A-Team	Bobby
1985	Magnum, P.I.	Joe
1963	General Hospital	Suki

Producer

• The Amazing Race Vietnam (2012-ongoing) - 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 Cnh Di?u Vng (Golden Kite Award) for best actor, for his starring role in the Phuoc Sang Films vehicle Huy?n Tho?i B?t T? (The Legend Is Alive).