Lou Diamond Phillips is a multi-award-winning acting star whose career has taken in hit films, major series, Broadway success, and reality television triumphs. He first shot to fame playing tragic rock’n’roller Richie Valens in 1988’s La Bamba, a film that was eventually added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his acting in the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver and for a Primetime Emmy in 2016 for his work in The Crossroads of History. His major television roles have included Henry Standing Bear in the A&E series Longmire and NYPD lieutenant Gill Arroyo in the Fox drama Prodigal Son. He won a Theater World Award and was nominated for a Tony for his performance in a 1996 Broadway revival of The King & I. Finally, he won the second season of the American version of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Here! in 2009. Still as busy as ever, his recent roles have included voicing a character in the Disney animated series Firebuds and starring as himself in the comedy film Easter Sunday.

Phillips was born in the Philippines and began his acting career in the early 1980s, appearing in low-budget movies and episodes of classic shows of the time such as Dallas and Miami Vice. His big-screen one-two of La Bamba and Stand and Deliver in 1987 and 1988 made him a major acting name, and he hasn’t been short of work since — he has now appeared in more than 150 movies and series, not to mention theatre productions.