Dustin Nguyen

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 Aioki on 21 Jump Street and as Johnny Loh on V.I.P. He starred 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.

Early life Nguyen was born Nguyễn Xuân Trí in Saigon, South Vietnam, and was one of two sons in his family. The family left Vietnam in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon.

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. 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 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 directed by Matt Eskandari; he stars with Chinese actress Bai Ling. He made a small cameo in 22 Jump Street as Vietnamese Jesus.

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.

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

Nguyen also was cast in The Accidental Getaway Driver which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

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 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.

Filmography

Film

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 episodes1995 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" 2019–2023WarriorZingRecurring (season 1); main role (season 2) 2025 Dope Thief Son Pham Recurring role; 7 episodes

Producer A Tourist's Guide to Love (2023)– Consulting Producer 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). 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.