 haing somnang ngor (khmer: á áá¶áá áááá¶á ááá, , march 22, 1940 â february 25, 1996) was a cambodian american physician, actor, and author who is best known for winning the 1985 academy award for best supporting actor for his debut performance in the movie the killing fields, in which he portrayed cambodian journalist and refugee dith pran. he was also the first ever male asian actor to win an oscar for a supporting performance and debut performance. his mother was khmer and his father was of chinese teochew descent. ngor and harold russell are the only two non-professional actors to win an academy award in an acting category.information about the actor ==life under the khmer rouge== born in samrong young, cambodia, ngor trained as a surgeon and gynecologist. he was practicing in the capital, phnom penh, in 1975 when pol pot's khmer rouge seized control of the country and proclaimed it democratic kampuchea. he was compelled to conceal his education, medical skills, and even the fact that he wore glasses to avoid the new regime's intense hostility to intellectuals and professionals. he was expelled from phnom penh along with the bulk of its two million inhabitants as part of the khmer rouge's "year zero" social experiment and imprisoned in a concentration camp along with his wife, m
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