Biography
Lou Diamond Phillips is an American actor, director and writer. Born Louis Diamond Upchurch on 17 February 1962 at the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, he was raised in Texas and graduated with a BFA in drama from the University of Texas at Arlington.
His breakthrough came playing Ritchie Valens in La Bamba (1987). He received a Golden Globe nomination for Stand and Deliver (1988) and appeared in Young Guns (1988) and Young Guns II (1990). On television he has played Henry Standing Bear in Longmire and Lieutenant Gil Arroyo in Prodigal Son. Phillips earned a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway performance in the 1996 revival of The King and I. In 2025 he appeared as Jeff Levjman in the series The Chair Company.
