Lou Diamond Phillips first gained widespread attention starring as Richie Valens in La Bamba and solidified his reputation in Stand and Deliver, for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe nomination and a Best Supporting Actor Independent Spirit Award. He has also starred in such films as Young Guns I and II,Disorganized Crime, Renegades, The First Power and Shadow Of The Wolf. Phillips co-starred in Ed Zwick's critically acclaimed military drama Courage Under Fire and, for Miramax's Ambition both wrote and starred in the film.

As a director, Phillips most recently helmed the Hallmark Channel movie Love Takes Wing. He made his directorial debut withDangerous Touch, a psychological thriller that he co-wrote for HBO. He also directed and starred in the independent feature Sioux City.

Phillips recently participated in the NBC reality series, "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here" in which he won the competition after 26 days in the Costa Rican jungle. He has also had a recurring role on the CBS series Numb3rs and costarred in the TNT mini-series by Dean Devlin entitled The Triangle. Phillips was also seen in the Turner Original film Red Water, as well as the Ron Shelton directed filmHollywood Homicide, starring Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. In the fall of 2001, he appeared on the CBS series Wolf Lake.

On stage, Phillips earned a Tony nomination for Best Actor for his performance as the King of Siam in the Broadway production of Roger & Hammerstein's The King and I, which received six Tony nominations. His extensive theater credits also include: A Hatful of Rain, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, P.S. Your Cat Is Dead, The Lady's Not For Burning, Doctor Faustus and Hamlet.