Blog

Nov 21, 2023

‘Young Guns,’ ‘La Bamba’ star Lou Diamond Phillips coming soon to a Fort Worth stage

Texas-raised actor Lou Diamond Phillips will soon grace a stage in Fort Worth.

Texas-raised actor Lou Diamond Phillips will soon grace a stage in Fort Worth. Again.

The "Young Guns" actor was born at a naval station in the Philippines, but his family moved to Texas shortly after his birth. Phillips grew up in Flour Bluff, a small neighborhood of Corpus Christi, and later graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in the early 1980s.

Now, Phillips is coming back to his old stomping grounds as a star in the stage musical "Miss Saigon" at Casa Mañana from June 3-11.

"Miss Saigon" tells the tragic emotional story of an American soldier and Vietnamese girl, who fall in love and marry in Saigon amid the Vietnam War. Phillips plays "The Engineer," a sleazy character who puts the two doomed lovers on a collision course with each other.

Phillips told FOX 4 he was drawn to the role for its flamboyance and historic resonance.

"It tells a period of history that is dark and tragic," Phillips said. "This is very much rooted in reality, where the Americans pulled out of Vietnam leaving some messes that never got cleaned up."

This isn't Phillips first rodeo at Casa Mañana.

Back in 2007, Phillips was part of a stage adaption of "A Few Good Men" at the Fort Worth theater, where he played the role of "Col. Nathan R. Jessup." Movie fans might recognize Phillips’ character as the role Jack Nicholson portrayed in the 1992 film adaption.

Beyond the stage, Phillips has been working in Hollywood since the mid-80s. His breakout role came in the 1987 film "La Bamba." where he portrayed Chicano rock-and-roll pioneer — Ritchie Valens.

Other works from Phillips include "Stand and Deliver," "Courage Under Fire," "The Big Hit" and "Longmire." Phillips is also a director, mainly working in television over the last decade.

North Texans can welcome Phillips back home by seeing "Miss Saigon," which opens Saturday and runs through June 11. Tickets can be purchased here.