Dr. Haing S. Ngor (Traditional Chinese: 吳漢, March 22, 1940 – February 25, 1996) was a Cambodian American physician, actor and author who is best known for winning the 1985 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the movie The Killing Fields, in which he portrayed journalist and refugee Dith Pran in 1970s Cambodia, under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. His mother was Khmer and his father was of Chinese descent. Ngor and Harold ...
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Dr. Haing S. Ngor (Traditional Chinese: 吳漢, March 22, 1940 – February 25, 1996) was a Cambodian American physician, actor and author who is best known for winning the 1985 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the movie The Killing Fields, in which he portrayed journalist and refugee Dith Pran in 1970s Cambodia, under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. His mother was Khmer and his father was of Chinese descent. Ngor and Harold Russell are the only two non professional actors to win Academy Awards in an acting category.
Born in Samrong Young, Cambodia, Ngor trained as a surgeon and gynecologist. He was practicing in the capital, Phnom Penh, in 1975 when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge seized control of the country and proclaimed it Democratic Kampuchea. He was compelled to conceal his education and medical skills (and indeed the fact that he wore spectacles) to avoid the new regime's intense hostility to intellectuals and professionals. He was expelled from Phnom Penh, along...
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