14 April 2004 - Courts overturned the 1998 conviction of the Oriental Lazy Boyz threesome who were jailed for the murder of Ngor. The court ruled that the original prosecutor had unfairly played on the jury sympathy in obtaining the conviction.
7 July 2005 - A US federal appeals court reinstated the 1998 convictions, rejecting claims of misconduct on the part of the original prosecutor.
He lost half his right little finger to the Khmer Rouge.
He was probably shot during the robbery for resisting giving up a cherished gold watch and chain bearing the picture of his wife, whom Khmer Rouge soldiers allowed to die in childbirth in 1975.
He was the first non-professional since Harold Russell in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) to win an Academy award.
One of eight actors of Asian descent nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category. The others are Miyoshi Umeki who won Best Supporting Actress nominated for Sayonara (1957), Sessue Hayakawa nominated for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Mako nominated for The Sand Pebbles (1966), Ben Kingsley who won Best Actor for Gandhi (1982), Pat Morita nominated for The Karate Kid (1984), Ken Watanabe nominated for The Last Samurai (2003) and Rinko Kikuchi nominated for Babel (2006).
One of six Asian actors nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category. The others are Miyoshi Umeki who won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Sayonara (1957), Sessue Hayakawa who was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Mako nominated for The Sand Pebbles (1966), Ken Watanabe nominated for The Last Samurai (2003), and Rinko Kikuchi nominated for Babel (2006).
Was not interested at first in the role of Dith Pran but after interviews with the filmmakers he changed his mind, remembering that he promised his late wife to tell Cambodia's story to the world.
Was the second Asian actor to win an Oscar. Miyoshi Umeki was the first.