Dustin Nguyen `jumped’ into a bonus – Star is `lucky to be alive’

In 1975, actor Dustin Tri Nguyen and his family escaped Vietnam during the fall of Saigon at the end of the war. His best friend wasn’t so lucky. The Viet Cong killed him.

“A lot of people say I’m so fortunate to be on a hit TV series,” said Nguyen, one of the stars of “21 Jump Street.” “But when you put things into perspective, I’m just lucky to be alive. Being an actor is a bonus. Being on a series where controversial topics are addressed is an actor’s dream.”

Nguyen plays fashion-conscious undercover cop Harry Ioki on “21 Jump Street.” The series, which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WFLD-Channel 32, has tackled such issues as AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse, racism and illiteracy.

He and his “Jump Street” colleagues Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson, Peter DeLuise and former Chicagoan Steven Williams will be in Chicago tomorrow, which Mayor Eugene Sawyer has proclaimed “21 Jump Street Day in Chicago.”

At 10:30 a.m., the cast will be at Daley Plaza to address the crowd and accept the official city proclamation. Fans will get to meet the actors at an autograph session at Marshall Field’s State Street store from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

The 25-year-old actor said one of the things he likes best about being on the series is the interest the writers and producers take in the actors. When they were developing his role, Nguyen asked that his character be Japanese instead of Vietnamese. He was worried about being typecast as a “boat person,” Nguyen said.

“A lot of people think I look more Korean or Chinese than Vietnamese anyway,” he said. “So I wasn’t worried about being able to pull it off.”

But in an acclaimed episode that aired last December, Ioki was uncovered as a Vietnamese immigrant trying to escape his past.

The show depicted Ioki’s parents being killed, his best friend being shot on a beach, him swimming under heavy fire to a waiting boat and his relocation to the United States. Except for the part about his parents’ deaths, the story paralleled Nguyen’s own experience.

Nguyen, his parents and younger brother spent a few weeks in a Guam refugee camp before moving to Fort Chaffee, Ark. When a Methodist Church sponsored their move to St. Louis, Mo., the Nguyens settled in to start their new lives. They became U.S. citizens and chose American names. His parents, former entertainers in their homeland, each worked two jobs to support the family.

After high school, Nguyen enrolled at Orange Coast College in California, and studied communications and film.

“During my second year there, a friend suggested I get into an acting class he was in,” Nguyen recalled. After six months, he decided to drop out of school in favor of acting.

Nguyen’s first break came in 1984 with a guest-starring role as a freedom fighter on “Magnum P.I.” Six months later, he won a six-month stint on “General Hospital.” Guest spots on “Shell Game” and “The A-Team” helped casting agents remember him.

His ideal role would be to portray martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Nguyen said. He has several championship titles as a second-degree black belt, is a Golden Gloves boxer and retired undefeated in kickboxing at 18.