#402 Flowing with Dustin Nguyen

Shannon’s guest on today’s podcast is Dustin Nguyen. Shannon first met Dustin on the set of her brother Brandon’s film, Rapid Fire and now they have become friends through their work together on Warrior. Dustin is a seasoned actor, director and producer. He is the only Vietnamese triple threat that can work both in the US and Vietnam with equal success. As an actor, Dustin has worked on such successes as Little Fish, 21 Jump Street, Seaquest DSV, Floating Lives, and HBOMax’s Warrior, where he also directs. In Vietnam he has appeared in the blockbuster The Rebel and the critically acclaimed The Legend Is Alive and he starred in and directed Once Upon A Time in Vietnam, which went on to be the first Vietnamese film to be sold to over 20 countries. Affectionately referred to in Vietnam as the “Vietnamese Clint Eastwood”, Dustin is the rare talent that can traverse genres with ease. In addition to his talents, Dustin is a kind soul, a gentleman and a spiritual seeker. You can see why Shannon and Dustin are friends! Get to know the Dustin that Shannon knows and loves on this episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast!

Affectionately referred to within Vietnam’s film industry as “the Vietnamese Clint Eastwood,” Dustin Nguyen is that rare film director that can traverse in various genres with ease. In addition, his films have achieved box-office successes 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. In a Hollywood Reporter’s review of Nguyen’s second film, it noted that “… Having proved his versatility and his ability to engage Vietnamese audiences, Dustin — who moved to the US in his early teens — has now certainly consolidated his standing as Vietnam’s top A-lister, and a one-man machine honing the development of genre cinema in the country.”

As an actor, it’s noteworthy that 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. 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.

Currently, he’s bringing his talent to HBO Max’s WARRIOR as both a series regular and a director. Dustin plays Zing, the unflinchingly brutal leader of the Fung Hai Tong. And it’s the veteran actor’s talent of understanding character and how to inject depth into his performance that makes Zing not just another antagonist. He also directed the second highest rated episode, during the two seasons run of WARRIOR, according to IMDB.

During the late 80’s and through 90’s, after starring on such hit TV shows like "21 JUMP STREET,” "SEAQUEST DSV," “VIP,” Dustin went to Vietnam to star in the Vietnamese film, THE REBEL. It was his first return to his Motherland after living in America for 33 years. The film became a blockbuster hit in Vietnam, and was the first Vietnamese film to be acquired for international distribution by the then Weinstein Company. This milestone eventually persuaded him to move to Vietnam in 2010, where he began to produce, direct and star in Vietnamese films under his production company Dreamscape DBS.

His directorial debut, ONCE UPON A TIME IN VIETNAM – the country’s first fantasy/action film – was acquired by Lion’s Gate for North America’s distribution.

In addition, it was the first Vietnamese film that was sold to over 20 other countries, including England, Germany, France, Italy and South America.

His second directorial effort, JACKPOT won Vietnam’s two highest cinematic awards, The Golden Lotus and The Golden Kite for Best Picture. It went on to be Vietnam’s Official Entry for 2016 Oscars in Best Foreign Language Film. I’LL WAIT – a supernatural love story, and Dustin’s third directorial effort – won 2017 Vietnam’s Film Association awards for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Actor.

As an actor, Dustin was awarded 2011’s 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. The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “Gruffly handsome Nguyen (“21 Jump Street”) makes his grunts and sighs convey the pain of someone who still desires women physically but hates them for making him feel that way. His performance recalls Harry Dean Stanton’s in “Paris, Texas”.

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 2014, Dustin collaborated as an actor in a Vietnamese adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s A GENTLE CREATURE. This film, GENTLE, earned him his second international award - a Leonardo da Vinci Horse Award - for Best Supporting Actor at the 2015 Milan International Film Festival, a privilege he shared with Dev Patel that year. The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “Nguyen (firmly putting 21 Jump Street behind him) is strong as the fastidious and obsessive Thien, turning in a nuanced performance based on material that is occasionally poorly defined.”

Among the above accomplishments, another important milestone was Dustin starring in a Levi's Jeans "Hero" campaign in 2000, 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.

Connect with Dustin:

IG: @dustintringuyen

FB: Dustin Nguyen

Watch the episode with Dustin Nguyen:

Write to us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us @brucelee on social media with #bruceleepodcast.

Lydy WalkerNovember 4, 2021s04