David Lee Huynh

David had an unusual start in Theatre. Since his high school offered the Theatre department almost no funding, he and his classmates got creative to produce ambitious plays like His Dark Materials, The Pillowman, and Waiting for Godot. They essentially formed a Theatre company - learning to build or scrounge for whatever they needed. They even converted their classroom into a black box theater, but a surprise visit from the superintendent forced them to change it back. This combination of resourcefulness and cheekiness made a mark on him during a formative time of his life. By the time he reached college, he was firmly set on making a career in the performing arts.

After graduating from the University of Houston Professional Actor Training Program, he worked across the country at various regional theaters. He then moved to New York City where he lives with his pup, Love Bug, and works as a freelance actor and a producing artistic leader of The Sống Collective.

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His identity as a first-generation Vietnamese-American influences the way he approaches his craft and career. His parents, both born in Vietnam, fled their country due to war. They started over with nothing, approaching life with a new understanding of how tenuous it can be.

As he grew, they asked him:

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"Trong đời sống này, con muốn đi đường nào?" 
[In this life, which road do you want to walk down?]

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It'll be one that makes them proud.
 

Transport Group While We're Home video essay series

Interview with Asia Society Texas

"David Lee Huynh [is] wallowing in bro-ish menace"
TheatreMania, The Merchant of Venice

"Huynh’s Lorenzo is dark...This Lorenzo is an abuser, thief, and cad—more interested in the wealth of his wife’s family and how to get control of it than he is in love with Jessica. Huynh hides this from the audience and Jessica. It is a shock to everyone when he reveals his true character."
MD Theatre Guide, The Merchant of Venice

"David Huynh...helped make this refugee story a bracing must-see at Mixed Blood."
Star Tribune, VIETGONE, Top 10 Best Ensembles of the Decade

"A powerful performance...heartfelt passion and dedication to justice that rivets the audience to their seats."
Picture This Post, THE TRIAL OF THE CATONSVILLE NINE

"With his gleaming shaved head and coiled physique, the sharp David Huynh emerges in the second part as York’s son Richard — renamed the Duke of Gloucester — the disabled malcontent who will murder his way to power."
The Village Voice, HENRY VI

"The later Richard III is among David Huynh’s numerous parts and having a hump on his back and suggesting a withered arm combined with his sensual forcefulness makes it a grand turn."
TheatreScene.net, HENRY VI
 
"Huynh brings a pilot’s bravado to Quang. As the aged dad at play’s end, he subverts our expectations with an emotional speech excoriating the Viet Cong and thanking Americans who fought next to him. He leaves us moved and conflicted."
Star Tribune, VIETGONE
 
"Prince Hal is portrayed by David Huynh, whose good looks and lithe physique fit the heroic mold, and whose quicksilver acting marks him as an actor of the first order." 
Houston Press, HENRY IV I

"Huynh brings swagger, heartbreak, and abs to his role as the playwright’s pilot father."
Minnesota Playlist, VIETGONE
 
"David Huynh plays John Wisehammer, convict and would-be playwright, finding his inner strength, and an intellectual confidence, and demonstrating that a minor role can stand out with honest authenticity."
             Houston Chronicle, OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD