S POR T S
Rebel with a Cause Johnny Tri Nguyen talks MMA in Vietnam, his banned movie Chinatown and why he's always the bad guy Text by James Pham
In your career, you've done it all stuntman/actor/writer/producer. Which do you prefer? JTN: As a stuntman, I loved doing things that were illegal to do outside of movies - shoot guns, fight, drive fast, jump from crazy places. You can make as much as the actors, except for the famous ones. But it was missing a creative element, so I took acting classes and got a few small roles, mostly where they needed an actor who could also do action. Writing is something of a love/hate relationship with me. Sometimes when you create something good, it's really satisfying. 22
When you can't find a resolution for something, it's very frustrating. Producing is the same. Now that I've written quite a few scripts that are ready to be produced, I'd like to stick with acting and action directing. For one movie that's a lot of work already.
How come you always play the villain? JTN: In Vietnam, the bad guy is always the white guy. But in the States, good guys are always the white guys. So whenever they wanted an Asian gangster, or a North Korean soldier, they called me. [laughs]
You were making a name for yourself in Hollywood. Why come back to Vietnam? JTN: I came back in 2000 for the first time as a cameraman for an independent Vietnamese film and got the chance to travel in Vietnam. I loved the weather, the humidity, and the beautiful, cinematic scenery. Vietnam is full of life. In 2004, I was hired to do a movie in Thailand, playing the lead villain in a Thai movie. It was really close to Vietnam and I always wanted to shoot a movie here. Back in 2000, there was no movie industry in Vietnam at all. But in 2005, it was kind of starting and I wanted to tell a Vietnamese story. So we wrote a script called The Rebel and got my brother to direct it. It was a big success, but not in terms of the box office. I think we made 20 prints for the whole country. But people who saw it, loved it. It made us proud of our work so I stayed and kept on working.
Your most recent movie, Chinatown, was famously banned here this summer after failing to pass the censorship board on multiple occasions. What happened? JTN: As a filmmaker, you don't want anyone to touch your materials. I'm sure Leonardo da Vinci didn't want someone telling him to draw in the eyebrows on the Mona Lisa. With Bui Doi Cho Lon (Chinatown), we had a director's cut which we absolutely loved. So it was really a shock when we got the paperwork saying we had to change the movie. Even with the first notice, we knew it was going to be a movie that wasn't our vision. We made quite a few changes and shot more scenes. We had to somehow put police
Image by ngoc tran
Hearing Johnny Tri Nguyen talk about his grandfather, the "White Crane of Ca Mau," so named for his long sleeved shirts to hide metal arm and shin guards, it's hard to separate fact from fiction. The story sounds a lot like a Hong Kong movie script and involves a grudge fight on a sampan, Cambodian hitmen practicing black magic, a jerry-rigged flame thrower, and a debilitating "one finger to the eye" finishing move. But that shouldn't come as much of a surprise, coming from a Hollywood stuntman turned Vietnamese movie actor/producer/ director/writer. His body of work includes stunts done in TV shows and films such as Mortal Kombat, Spider-Man and Jarhead. He's starred in a number of Vietnamese films and foreign language films, and most notably had a part in the Hollywood action flick Cradle 2 the Grave, with a fight scene opposite Jet Li. Leaving Vietnam at the age of 9, Johnny and his family landed in Beaumont, Texas ("It was too cold for my mom") before settling in California. A devotee of martial arts, Johnny's first break came when a friend called about a TV series looking for martial artists. So began his career in the movie industry. We're at Johnny's dojo, Lien Phong ("Connecting Winds", the style of martial arts originated by his grandfather), a peaceful shaded oasis in District 7 which contrasts with the raw, explosive action that takes place here. The rhythmic thwap thwap of two dozen jump ropes from the nearby training area provides the soundtrack for the interview. Clad in a tight fitting training shirt that shows off a body most 20-year-olds would envy, Johnny talks to Oi about his full circle journey in life and the movie business.