'21 Jump Street' veteran plays Vietnamese Jesus Christ in big-screen sequel

NEW YORK, June 11 (UPI) -- Fans of the original 21 Jump Street television police drama will be delighted to see cast member Dustin Nguyen has a cameo in the big-screen action-comedy 22 Jump Street.

The Vietnamese-American actor became a teen idol playing undercover cop Harry Truman Ioki on the show from 1987-90.

Nguyen plays Jesus Christ during a drug-induced hallucination in 22 Jump Street. The movie is a sequel to 21 Jump Street, a 2012 spoof, which starred Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, and featured appearances by Nguyen's former co-stars Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson and Peter DeLuise.

"There was more Dustin. He had a longer bit in the drug trip as Vietnamese Jesus," 22 Jump Street co-director Phil Lord told UPI during a recent round-table interview with reporters in New York.

"He is in there. I don't know if you guys noticed, but he dances with Channing," added co-director Chris Miller.

"That's him as Vietnamese Jesus, very briefly," Lord said.

"So, there was an extended scene where Dustin shot [Tatum's and Hill's characters] in the [genitals] with laser beams that you can find on the DVD," Miller revealed.

"Our first cut of the movie was almost four hours long," Lord explained. "We had so much crazy stuff and lots of improvisations and wild things. We ended up having to cut out a bunch of things just to get it to a reasonable length and, so, a lot of some of our favorite parts had to go, unfortunately."

Starring Tatum and Hill as police officers who go undercover to bust a college drug ring, 22 Jump Street opens nationwide Friday.