Đơn Dương (actor)

Bùi Đơn Dương, known in his films as Đơn Dương (August 27, 1957 – December 8, 2011), was a Vietnamese film actor, who emigrated to the United States in 2003. He began acting in 1982 and has appeared in over 50 feature films. He won the Best Vietnamese Actor award for his role in the 1992 Vietnamese film Dấu Ấn của Quỷ ("Devil's Mark"). The 1996 film Cỏ Lau, in which he also acted, won Best Picture at the Vietnamese National Film Festival.

Don Duong
Born	(1957-08-27)August 27, 1957 Da Lat, South Vietnam (now Dalat, Vietnam)
Died	December 8, 2011(2011-12-08) (aged 54) San Francisco, California, U.S.

Early life and education

Don Duong was born in Da Lat, South Vietnam on August 27, 1957.

Career

His first appearance in a U.S. film was in 1999, with the release of Three Seasons, an award-winning film directed by his nephew Tony Bui and shot in Vietnam.

In 2001, Duong traveled to the U.S. to film two films. In Green Dragon (2001), a film directed by Tony Bui's brother Timothy Linh Bui and starring Patrick Swayze and Forest Whitaker, Duong played a Vietnamese refugee who assisted Swayze's character. In We Were Soldiers (2002), Duong played Nguyễn Hữu An, a PAVN lieutenant colonel who led Vietnamese forces against the soldiers led by Mel Gibson's character.[1]

Upon his return to Vietnam in 2002, Duong was subjected to severe criticism by some Vietnamese citizens and government officials for his involvement in these two projects, particularly for his portrayal as Colonel An in We Were Soldiers where he orders his Viet Minh troops to kill captured and wounded French soldiers. Within a few months, the Vietnamese Actors' Association expelled him, he was banned from working in Vietnam, and his passport was confiscated. Duong wrote a letter to his sons, reflecting upon his ordeal and stating that they "can know the truth, to affirm that I am always and forever not a traitor." The letter was released to the public and published in the Los Angeles Times. In the letter he described the two movies as just "cinema":

Movies must reflect the portrait of history. 'Green Dragon' re-creates the refugee camps full of tragedy and chaos but still not lacking love and fellowship. ... When I portrayed the character Tai, I had to assume the viewpoint of that character, not my own viewpoint. Only idiots who know nothing about movies would confuse Don Duong with the character Don Duong portrays.[2]

As the filmmaking community in the U.S. and elsewhere spoke out against the government's negative treatment of Duong, the government of Vietnam relented and allowed him and his family to emigrate to the United States.[3][4]

He has also acted in the South Korean film Farewell the River. As of 2006, Duong lived in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Later life and death

On December 8, 2011 he died of heart failure and a brain haemorrhage at the age of 54.[5][4]

Filmography

Some of his films

Year	Film name	Role	Director, note
1982	Pho tượng	Dũng
1990	Phía sau cuộc chiến
1991	Canh bạc [6]	driver Chiến
1992	Dấu ấn của quỷ [6]	artist prisoner
1993	Chuyện tình trong ngõ hẹp [7]	electrician Toàn
1993	Cỏ lau [6]	Lt Colonel Lực
1993	Tạm biệt sông Ba		Korean: 머나먼 쏭바강
1995	Giữa dòng [6]		video
1996	Bông sen vàng[8]	Trần	Yellow Lotus
1996	Người đẹp Tây Đô		TV movie
1999	Ba mùa	Hải	English Three Seasons
1999	Chung cư		French: L'Immeuble English: The Building
2000	Đời cát	Mr Cảnh	English: Sand life
2001	Green Dragon	Trần Tài
2002	We Were Soldiers	Nguyễn Hữu An	USA
2002	vi:Mê Thảo, thời vang bóng	Tam	French: Mê Thao - Il fut un temps English: Mê Thao: There Was a Time When
2004	Ngày Giỗ - The Anniversary	father	director Ham Tran (Trần Hàm)
?	Bản tình ca [6]
?	Biệt ly trắng [9]	Nam
?	Chuyện ngã bảy [6]
?	Ông Hai cũ [9]	Chính uỷ Thắng
?	Vùng trời cho chim câu [6]

References

1. "Actor quits Vietnam for US". BBC News. England. April 10, 2003. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
2. Busch, Anita M. (November 11, 2002). "Vietnamese star defends roles". Los Angeles Times.
3. "Vietnamese actor Duong 'not a traitor'". The Globe and Mail. Los Angeles. 13 November 2002. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
4. "Vietnamese actor Don Duong dies at 55". BBC News. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
5. (in Vietnamese) Phương Anh (2005-06-07). "Tài tử Đơn Dương xây dựng cuộc sống mới tại Hoa Kỳ (I)". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
6. Diễn viên Đơn Dương: Hóa kiếp những giông bão
7. Đơn Dương và kỷ niệm 'Chuyện tình trong ngõ hẹp'
8. Phương Anh (2005-06-07). "Tài tử Đơn Dương xây dựng cuộc sống mới tại Hoa Kỳ (I)". Radio Free Asia.
9. Chánh Tín: 'Tôi vừa giận vừa thương Đơn Dương'

External links

• Don Duong on IMDb