[3] He never received any formal training in filmmaking, but instead grew up watching the films of director Alfred Hitchcock, including 1958's Vertigo and 1963's The Birds.

In 2005, he directed the science fiction thriller Replica, inspired by Vertigo, but it was not released until 2017;[6] Nguyen blamed the outcome on the expensive storyboarding process and his casting decisions.

[5] Nguyen's popularity as a director rose in 2010 with the release of the film Birdemic: Shock and Terror.

[10][11] Birdemic was featured as a movie riffed on by the cast of RiffTrax both as a standalone product and during one of their live shows, drawing further attention to the film and Nguyen.

In February 2012, Nguyen began production on a sequel to the film, entitled Birdemic 2: The Resurrection.