Scott Ly is a Vietnamese-American actor and producer best known for his lead role as Sinh Thach in the 2023 Netflix romantic comedy A Tourist’s Guide to Love.
Born in Houston, Texas, to a family of Vietnamese refugees, Ly built a two-decade career across American television before landing the Netflix film that brought him to a wider global audience.
Who is Scott Ly?
Scott Ly, also known by the full name Scott Quoc Ly, is a Vietnamese-American actor, producer, and writer based in Southern California.
He gained the broadest recognition of his career when he starred opposite Rachael Leigh Cook in the Netflix film A Tourist’s Guide to Love in 2023.
Before that role, Ly spent roughly two decades building a steady career through recurring appearances on major network and cable television dramas.
His credits include Criminal Minds, Bones, FBI: Most Wanted, Animal Kingdom, and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.
In 2024, he joined the cast of the HBO limited series The Sympathizer, directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Hoa Xuande.
That role marked his second major streaming project within a single year.
Ly is fluent in both Vietnamese and English, which has connected him to Vietnamese-themed projects throughout his career.
His deep background in martial arts, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA, also informs the physical credibility he brings to many of his roles.
He has also worked as a producer and writer in addition to his on-screen acting career.
Early Life of Scott Ly
Scott Ly’s family fled Vietnam as boat refugees following the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. His parents and three older siblings were all born in Vietnam, while Scott became the first of his family to be born in America, arriving in Houston, Texas.
His family later relocated to the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California, which Ly considers his true hometown.
He grew up immersed in Vietnamese culture while also becoming deeply embedded in American athletics and performance.
As a teenager, Ly served as captain of both his high school’s basketball team and wrestling team.
Those years as a competitor built the physical discipline and competitive focus he later carried into professional acting.
The influence of the late Bruce Lee also played a significant role in shaping Ly’s approach to fitness and martial arts.
He went on to practice circuit training, yoga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA throughout his adult life.
Scott Ly Age / Birthday
Scott Ly is 48 years old as of 2026, born on April 2, 1978. His zodiac sign is Aries, a sign often associated with boldness, drive, and a natural tendency toward leadership.
He remains active in both acting and physical training as of 2026.
Scott Ly Ethnicity and Nationality
Scott Ly holds American nationality. His ethnic background is Vietnamese-American, as the youngest child of a family that immigrated to the United States in 1975 following the Vietnam War.
He grew up maintaining fluency in Vietnamese alongside English, and that cultural connection has shaped both his identity and many of the roles he has pursued in Hollywood.
Scott Ly Height and Weight
Scott Ly stands at 5 feet 11 inches tall, which equals approximately 180 centimeters or 1.80 meters. His reported weight is around 72 kilograms, or 158 pounds.
He maintains an athletic physique through a consistent regimen of circuit training, yoga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA training.
His physical conditioning is a visible part of his public profile, and he regularly shares fitness content alongside career updates on social media.
Scott Ly Career
Early Career and TV Work (2006-2022)
Ly began his on-screen career in 2006 with a role in the short film Fast Money, playing a character named Pistol Pete.
He followed that credit with appearances in two long-running crime dramas, taking the role of Paul Montgomery in Criminal Minds and Sung Dae Park in Bones.
In 2008, he appeared in the Vietnam War action film 1968 Tunnel Rats as Huy Tran.
That same period saw him taking on a steady run of guest and recurring television roles across network drama.
By 2011, he had earned a recurring part in Legend of Souls, playing the character Vikis across four episodes.
His other credits from this phase include the 2013 feature Blood of Redemption as Lin Chua, The Young and the Restless in 2015, and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders in 2016.
He appeared in two episodes of Animal Kingdom as Danh in 2018, and took on the role of Adam Moore in FBI: Most Wanted in 2020.
Those credits demonstrated his growing foothold within American prestige television across multiple networks.
A Tourist’s Guide to Love (2023)
In 2023, Ly landed his largest film role to date, playing Sinh Thach in A Tourist’s Guide to Love on Netflix. The romantic comedy, directed by Steven K.
Tsuchida and written by Eireen Donahue, stars Rachael Leigh Cook as an American travel executive who falls for her Vietnamese tour guide while on an undercover assignment.
The film shot on location throughout Vietnam, and cast Ly in the central male lead opposite Cook, Missi Pyle, and Ben Feldman.
Cook spoke publicly about her experience working with Ly during the film’s promotion, describing the cast as drawn to his energy on set.
A Tourist’s Guide to Love premiered on Netflix on April 21, 2023.
That release gave Ly his first streaming lead role after more than a decade of television appearances and marked a clear step forward in the scale of his career.
The Sympathizer and Recent Work (2024)
Following A Tourist’s Guide to Love, Ly joined the cast of the HBO limited series The Sympathizer in 2024.
Variety announced his casting exclusively, confirming his recurring role as Hefty Gunner Dao, a Vietnamese former soldier who escaped to the United States and became part of a Recon squad.
The Sympathizer is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning debut novel and serves as an espionage thriller and cross-cultural satire set during the final days of the Vietnam War.
Park Chan-wook directed the series, with Robert Downey Jr., Hoa Xuande, Sandra Oh, Toan Le, and Kieu Chinh among the principal cast.
The series premiered on April 14, 2024, as a co-production between HBO and A24.
Ly’s appearance in two major streaming projects in consecutive years confirmed his rise within Vietnamese-American representation in mainstream Hollywood.
Scott Ly Filmography
Here are some movies.
| Year | Title | Role | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Fast Money | Pistol Pete | Short Film |
| 2005 | Criminal Minds | Paul Montgomery | TV |
| 2005 | Bones | Sung Dae Park | TV |
| 2008 | 1968 Tunnel Rats | Huy Tran | Film |
| 2011 | Legend of Souls | Vikis | TV |
| 2013 | Blood of Redemption | Lin Chua | Film |
| 2015 | The Young and the Restless | Processor | TV |
| 2016 | Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Officer #1 | TV |
| 2018 | Animal Kingdom | Danh | TV |
| 2020 | FBI: Most Wanted | Adam Moore | TV |
| 2023 | A Tourist’s Guide to Love | Sinh Thach | Film (Netflix) |
| 2024 | The Sympathizer | Hefty Gunner Dao | TV (HBO) |
Scott Ly Net Worth
Scott Ly’s estimated net worth is $1.5 million as of 2026.
His income comes primarily from his acting work across film and television, including his Netflix and HBO projects.
Two decades of consistent TV appearances across shows like Criminal Minds, Animal Kingdom, and FBI: Most Wanted built the foundation of his earnings.
His lead role in A Tourist’s Guide to Love and his recurring part on The Sympathizer represent the highest-profile credits of his career to date.
Beyond on-screen acting, Ly has worked as a producer and writer and has taken on national commercial campaigns and major print advertising work.
Those additional income streams contribute alongside his film and television fees.
Scott Ly Wife
Scott Ly is a married man, but he keeps his details private about his wife’s name and their profession.
Ly has two children, but he has not provided any details about them.
Scott Ly Social Media
Ly maintains an active Instagram presence under the handle @scottly.ig. His posts mix fitness updates, martial arts content, and promotions for his film and television work.
His full credits as an actor, writer, and producer appear on his IMDb page.
Beyond Instagram, Ly keeps a deliberately low public profile, sharing little of his personal life across platforms.
Conclusion
Scott Ly spent more than two decades building a quiet but consistent career in American television before A Tourist’s Guide to Love introduced him to a global audience in 2023.
His role in HBO’s The Sympathizer the following year placed him alongside Robert Downey Jr. and a director of Park Chan-wook’s standing, a significant marker in his trajectory as a Vietnamese-American actor in Hollywood.