Lou Diamond Phillips Lou Diamond Phillips is an American actor, director, and writer known for his breakout role as Ritchie Valens in La Bamba (1987). His career spans film, television, and stage, including a Tony-nominated Broadway debut in The King and I, roles in Stand and Deliver and Young Guns, and a starring role in the TV series Longmire and Prodigal Son. Born in the Philippines, he was raised in Texas and is an advocate for Asian American and Native American representation.
