Diaspora: Kouryou Ngin, from Breakdancing to Hollywood Stunts
His name is not at the top of the poster. You find it further down, in the credits for stunt performers, dancers and supporting roles. Kouryou Ngin, a performer of Cambodian heritage trained on the street and then on New York stages, has built an unusual career: putting his body to work for American action cinema.
A path that began with breakdancing
It started with dance. Kouryou Ngin took up breakdancing and b-boying in middle school. After high school, he kept training in hip-hop at studios in the United States and abroad, including Toronto and Tokyo.
Back in the US, he formed a crew with friends. The group taught and competed around Washington, Maryland and Virginia. Kouryou then began teaching hip-hop and coaching competition teams at local studios.
The turning point came by chance. Travelling instructors from Broadway Dance Center spotted him. He moved to New York to train there, became an assistant teacher and performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. His professional profile dates those performances to 2012, 2013 and 2014.
From dance to the camera
New York did not keep him in the background for long. He came to dance, and soon caught the eye of agents and directors. He moved from backup dancer to working in front of the camera as an actor and model.
Music videos followed, for Thalía, Maluma and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, then Dua Lipa. So did advertising. His client list includes Nike, Samsung, Facebook, Gillette and Protein World, as well as Bose, Budweiser and Bacardi.
Muay Thai in the blood
Behind the dancer is a fighter. As a child, he watched action and martial arts films with his father. His heroes were Rocky Balboa, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
He trained in boxing and grew up in Cambodian culture, where Khmer boxing holds a central place. A natural striker, he later added wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu and moved into MMA. He has boxed since the age of 15, fought as an amateur and coached at UFC Gym in Hoboken. His martial arts training also runs through Everlast Boxing and the Renzo Gracie Academy.
His professional résumé describes him as being of Cambodian and Japanese heritage.
Stunts for Marvel and Jackie Chan
Dance plus combat led naturally to stunt work. Once established as an actor and stuntman in New York, he also became a stunt coordinator and choreographer.
His TV credits grew. He appeared in A Crime to Remember, in the Marvel series Daredevil, Luke Cage and The Punisher, and later in Power Book II: Ghost and Blue Bloods.
Two films stand out. He did stunts on Vanguard, the Jackie Chan film, and had a role in The Misfits with Pierce Brosnan. That shoot took him to the United Arab Emirates, across the deserts and cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. On screen, he fights and does stunt driving.
On set, he has worked with leading names in the trade: Viktor Ivanov, stunt coordinator on The Bourne Supremacy, the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, and James Lew from Luke Cage.
His skills list is long. It includes fire burns, car hits, rolling over a car bonnet, drifting and car chases.
“My Asian”, a short film close to home
In 2022, Kouryou Ngin danced in “My Asian”, a short film directed by Jami Ramberan and written by Suzen Baraka. The film confronts the injustices faced by Asian Americans, from everyday micro-aggressions to acts of violence.
It travelled the festival circuit, with selections at the Urbanworld Film Festival, the Pan African Film Festival and the Mixed Asian Media Film Festival. At the 2022 Micheaux Film Festival, it won in the performance or experimental category. It was also recognised at the Webby Awards.
In front of and behind the camera
Kouryou Ngin does more than act. He also directs and edits. For acting, he trained with Anthony Abeson in New York and Howard Fine in Los Angeles. By 2021, he described himself as a New York performer now based in Los Angeles.
His résumé lists other strings to his bow. He hosts live shows, game shows, Comic-Con conventions and panels, and does voiceover and improv. On Instagram, he calls himself a professional storyteller and shows his partnership with combat sports brand Hayabusa.
A quiet lineage
Kouryou Ngin is part of a wider story: Khmer diaspora artists working in the American industry, often out of the spotlight. Haing S. Ngor, who won an Oscar for The Killing Fields, remains the founding figure. More recently, Khmer-American choreographer D.Y. Sao trained actors for Shang-Chi and Everything Everywhere All at Once. Cambodge Mag has also profiled actress Chanty Sok, born in the Bronx in 1984.
Kouryou Ngin has not yet had a leading role. His name appears mostly on casting sheets and in end credits. His filmography keeps growing.
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