Johnny Tri Nguyen

Johnny Tri Nguyen (1974-    ) is a famous Vietnamese movie actor, martial artist and stuntman.  His good looks and massive appeal on the big screen have turned him into a major heartthrob in Vietnam.

Born as Nguyen Chanh Minh Tri on January 16, 1974 in Saigon, South Vietnam, he is the youngest in a family of three children.  When he was 8 years old, Johnny Tri Nguyen and his family left their native homeland for the United States resettling in Los Angeles, California.  From an early age, he trained in martial arts.  While he was a teenager, he competed as a martial artist on the US national team.  This would lead Johnny Tri Nguyen to a career as a Hollywood stuntman for such films like We Were Soldiers (2002), Spider-Man (2002), Ella Enchanted (2004), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Collateral (2004), Serenity (2005), Jarhead (2005) and The Perfect Sleep (2009).  His first speaking part was a small role in the television series, Martial Law (1998).  Johnny Tri Nguyen made his American feature film debut as an actor in the Jet Li starring vehicle, Cradle 2 the Grave (2003).

In 2003, Johnny Tri Nguyen costarred alongside Kathleen Luong, Catherine Ai and Long Nguyen in his first Vietnamese-language feature film, Buoi Sang Dau Nam (First Morning), directed by Victor Vu.  Three years later, he would play the lead role starring in another Vietnamese-language film, Hon Truong Ba, Da Hang Thit (Truong Ba's Soul in Butcher's Body), written and directed by Nguyen Quang Dung and which had costarred Anh Thu, Phuoc Sang, Phuong Thanh and Minh Thuan.

His next film, Dong Mau Anh Hung (The Rebel) (2007), would turn Johnny Tri Nguyen into one of cinema of Vietnam's biggest stars.  Production for the film had been somewhat of a family affair.  The film's director was his older brother, Charlie Nguyen.  Both Charlie Nguyen and Johnny Tri Nguyen were the film's producers, as well as writers of the screenplay.  In addition to Johnny Tri Nguyen and Ngo Thanh Van as the leading actor and actress, Dong Mau Anh Hung also starred his cousin, Vietnamese-American actor Dustin Nguyen, and his uncle, legendary Vietnamese film actor Nguyen Chanh Tin.  Upon its release, Dong Mau Anh Hung became the biggest grossing film in the history of Vietnamese Cinema with a total in domestic box office receipts exceeding 10 billion VND.  The following year, that record would be broken by another Johnny Tri Nguyen starring vehicle, Nu Hon Than Chet (Kiss of Death), with a total in domestic box office receipts of 16 billion VND.  The film also costarred former Miss Vietnam Photogenic titleholder, Thanh Hang, and comedian/actor Hoai Linh.  Nu Hon Than Chet would hold the record as the highest grossing Vietnamese film for the next five years.  In 2009, he had starred in Choi Voi (Adrift) alongside Linh Dan Pham and Do Thi Hai Yen.  Although the film did not achieve blockbuster success, it was a critical success winning the young director's award at the 66th annual Venice Film Festival.  In 2013 Johnny Tri Nguyen would break his own blockbuster record with another starring vehicle, Teo Em, directed by his brother, Charlie Nguyen, and costarred Thai Hoa and Than Thuy Ha, with a total in gross domestic box office receipts of 80 billion VND. This record has since been broken by Qua Tim Mau (Vengeful Heart) (2014), directed by Victor Vu, with a total in domestic box office gross receipts of 91 billion VND.  With such box office blockbuster success during the last decade, Johnny Tri Nguyen unquestionably has been the most bankable movie actor in Vietnam.

In addition to his acting credits in Vietnamese-language films, Johnny Tri Nguyen has acted in supporting roles in films for Tamil Cinema, 7aum Arivu (2011) and Irumbu Kuthirai (2014), and one film for Thai Cinema, Tom-Yum-Goong (2005).

From 2000 until 2008, Johnny Tri Nguyen was married to Vietnamese singer Viet Thy, also known as Cathy Viet Thi.  That marriage had produced two daughters, Hayley and Taylor.  The couple divorced in 2008.  Johnny Tri Nguyen is currently in a relationship with actress/singer Ngo Thanh Van.

Link(s):

30 Most Beautiful Viet Celebs of 2015
20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time 
Johnny Tri Nguyen Facebook Page