An American actor of Cambodian origin, born in Bati, Cambodia. In 1985, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Killing Fields, becoming the first Asian person to win the award in that category. He escaped three times from detention in Cambodian prison camps using his medical knowledge to keep himself alive by eating beetles and termites, and eventually, he arrived in relief camps. Some of his credits include The Iron Triangle (1989) and Heaven & Earth (1993).