By Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A leading Vietnamese actor branded a traitor by Hanoi for appearing in a Hollywood Vietnam War film said on Friday that he was deeply saddened to be forced to leave his homeland this week.

"I had to leave under pressure and I am very, very sad about it," Don Duong, who arrived with his family in San Jose, California on Wednesday, said in an interview. "Deep down in my heart I never wanted to leave.

"That is my country, where I was born and where I grew up; but under the conditions, I had no choice."

Duong, 44, a popular national actor, fell from grace last September after playing a Vietnamese officer opposite Mel Gibson in "We Were Soldiers." Hanoi said the movie, which portrayed a U.S. battle victory over the North Vietnamese, was unflattering and inaccurate.

"I don't regret making the movie; I just played a role in it," he said, adding that the final edited film was not as historically accurate as the original script. "But the Vietnam War is still a controversial topic.

"The film 'We Were Soldiers' made people in north Vietnam uncomfortable," he said. "They misunderstood the film."

Duong also acted in "Green Dragon," a 2001 release that starred Patrick Swayze, which depicted the life of Vietnamese refugees in a U.S. camp after the Vietnam War.

After falling from favor last September, he was banned from leaving the country for five years or from acting in any movie during that period. Duong was also fined about $5,000, a stiff penalty by local standards. Police often came by his home.

"Friends still dropped by to calm me down, but they could not speak out publicly," he said.

Finally he was allowed to leave after a lobbying campaign from abroad.

FAMILY SPLIT AFTER WAR

Duong grew up in the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, and like many found his family split after the Communist takeover of the south in 1975. He remained, but three of his sisters moved to America.

After just two days in the United States, Duong was already pining for the day he could return to Vietnam.

"I am like a tree that grew up and became fruitful in my homeland, yet because of a bad climate I could not continue there," he said. "I am hoping that one day in the future the bad climate will go away and everything will be calm and I can go back."

The actor said he would like to resume making films, but realizes it may not be easy.

"I would love to continue my career, and I am ready to start from zero, he said, with his sister Susie Bui, with whom he is now living, translating from Vietnamese. "But right now that is not important. Here I can find peace of mind, that is the most important thing."



Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.

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