Dustin Nguyen

Affectionately referred to as “the Clint Eastwood of Vietnam,” Dustin is that rare film actor/director that can traverse various genres with ease. His films have achieved box-office success as well as numerous top cinematic awards in Vietnam. The actor/director/producer is the only Vietnamese American that can currently work on both sides of the Atlantic with equal success.

Dustin has recently finished shooting Apple’s crime drama series SINKING SPRING from TOP GUN: MAVERICK writer Peter Craig. The eight-episode series is directed, and executive produced by Ridley Scott via his Scott Free Productions.

Nguyen plays Son Pham, who is the definition of street smart, able to keep his clandestine lifestyle discreet and offering myriad advice. He believes that the only things of real value are one’s heart, wits, and family. He’s also knowledgeable in history and world issues and has an impressive vocabulary.

Waiting for a February 2025 release date, Nguyen stars in THE ACCIDENTAL GETAWAY DRIVER, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The LA Times wrote, “It’s great to see an Asian-centric film — a compelling collection of Asians on the screen, especially Dustin Nguyen’s powerful performance. The “21 Jump Street” actor is magnetic in his intensity, smooth in his delivery.”

Of his performance, IndieWire wrote, “Nguyen isn’t called “the Clint Eastwood of Vietnam” for nothing, and this film’s producers, Bond caretakers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, would do well to consider him for a future 007 movie. But his hard surface melts away… until he becomes something far more complex, like a John Ford antihero who’s done terrible things but is looking for a path to redemption.” Variety said, “The main felon in action is Tây, played by the ever-magnetic Dustin Nguyen, whose charismatic and intricate performance is consistently the film’s most interesting aspect.”

Inspired by the real event, based off of a G.Q. article, the film tells the story of an older Vietnamese cab driver, lonely and isolated, who picks up three men who have just broken out of prison. Nguyen plays Tây, a Vietnamese born but raised in the U.S., surprisingly observant, volatile, athletic, menace but not without a heart and a certain charm. Tây speaks Vietnamese and can communicate with the older Long Ma, the cabbie. He likes him and respectfully refers to him as Uncle, and opens up to him in a way that cuts through his volatile childlike behavior to reveal the vulnerable scared soul underneath. Director Sing J Lee co-wrote the script, and also just won the jury prize for directing at Sundance 2023.

On the small screen, Dustin starred in and directed Justin Lin’s series “Warrior,” which will was recently canceled. He played Zing the “Big Bad” of the series. He directed a stand alone episode in Season 2 to such fanfare that he has he has directed two more episodes for Season 3. The show, based on the writings of Bruce Lee, is set in late 1870s San Francisco during the Tong Wars in Chinatown. The show is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Dustin’s last film was Universal 1440 Entertainment’s 47 Ronin Sequel, where he plays Lord Nikko, the leader of one of the samurai clans. The film is currently streaming on Netflix. Dustin was the first Asian American actor many had seen on prime-time television without an accent. Fans watched him every week without fail on “21 Jump Street” playing undercover detective, Harry Truman Ioki, with piercings, a long mullet and a leather jacket while riding a motorcycle. He played cool and badass when Asian American men on screen were always portrayed as weak, nerdy and sexually neutered. Not only that, his character played against the stereotypical accountant or computer programmer that most Asian Americans were typecast into. After he had wrapped four seasons of “21 Jump Street” Dustin booked more film and televisions roles. Many of his fans were delighted to see him on “VIP”, the campy action-comedy show starring Pamela Anderson, where he once again played against stereotype. In 2014, Dustin collaborated as an actor in a Vietnamese adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s A GENTLE CREATURE. This film, GENTLE, earned him a Leonardo da Vinci Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 2015 Milan International Film Festival. In the same year, Dustin starred in Universal Pictures’ sequel to THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS.

In 2013, he made his directorial debut with a script he wrote which was his personal homage to Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, called ONCE UPON A TIME IN VIETNAM – the first fantasy-martial-arts-drama in Vietnam. The film was picked up by Lionsgate for North America distribution, as well as being distributed in England, Germany, Italy, France, Australia and South America. The movie explored what society thinks a man and hero should be and he incorporated several Buddhist ideas – so much so that Vietnamese media thought it was a Buddhist movie. He says, “One of the things that really stayed with me in Buddhism is the idea that until we can manage our anger – that fire inside us – our ‘house’ will burn… Our Biggest battle really is inside us.”

In 2011, Dustin was awarded Best Actor at the Vietnamese International Film Festival for his performance as an abusive and bitter single father raising two children in the Mekong Delta in FLOATING LIVES. In 2009, Dustin was awarded the Vietnamese Golden Lotus Award (Vietnam’s Highest Film Award) for Best Actor in the motion picture THE LEGEND IS ALIVE, as well as the Golden Kite Award (Vietnam’s Cinema Association) for the very same role. He was also awarded the Golden Rooster (China’s most prestigious film award) for Favorite International Actor for this very role. Dustin played Long, a mentally challenged man, whose only wish is to bring his recently deceased mother’s ashes to America. Along his journey, Long encounters and reluctantly involves himself with a young girl who has been sold to human traffickers.

In 2008, Dustin starred in Justin Lin’s film FINISHING THE GAME, which had premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2006, Dustin starred in his first villain role in the Vietnamese blockbuster THE REBEL, a French-Vietnamese 1920’s period action-drama. It marked his first return to Vietnam in 32 years.

In 2005 Dustin won the much sought after role in the Australian based critically acclaimed film LITTLE FISH starring opposite Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett. In the film Dustin plays ‘Jonny,’ Blanchett’s love interest in a story that revolves around her ‘Tracy,’ an ex-heroin-addict trying to rebuild her life. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to become the number-one film in Australia. Along the way, it collected 5 Australian Film Institute Awards and 3 Film Critics’ Awards. LITTLE FISH then opened in New York to rave reviews. Critics took note of Dustin’s performance and transformation into a leading man among the A-list cast. This very performance earned him the 2007 Asian Excellence Award for Best Supporting Actor in a feature film.

Dustin’s martial arts expertise was fully showcased in 2000 when he starred in a Levi’s Jeans’ European “Hero” campaign, which expanded upon his ever-growing international profile. The campaign was uniquely groundbreaking in that it was the first time Levi’s had ever used an Asian star in their awarded winning campaigns. For Dustin, it offered the first opportunity to apply his love for the martial arts along with his dramatic training as he collaborated with director Jonathan Glazer (UNDER THE SKIN, SEXY BEAST, BIRTH) on the fight choreography. Nguyen to this day is still fit and in fighting form putting to practice several martial arts – including Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Eskrima and Jeet June Do – in many of his projects.

Though Nguyen constantly credited the Asian American actors before him like Clyde Kusatsu, who worked with and advised him on the set of “Magnum P.I.,” it’s not lost on him that he is one of the reasons current Asiana American actors are now receiving the visibility they deserve. With this new age of Asian American representation in film and television that Nguyen helped pioneer, the scene is set for his return.

Dustin currently lives in Hawaii with his wife, Bebe Pham, and their four children.