Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the highly prolific Japanese-born, American-trained actor with a face seen in many films of the 1990s and 2000s, has died. The actor passed away from complications from a stroke on Thursday in Santa Barbara at the age of 75.
Tagawa is arguably best know as the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in Paul W.S. Anderson’s 1995 film adaptation of the “Mortal Kombat” game franchise. He reprised the role in the 1997 sequel and various webisodes and games.
His very first role was an uncredited swordsman in John Carpenter’s “Big Trouble in Little China” before he first broke through in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 Oscar Best Picture-winner “The Last Emperor” as Chang, the emperor’s driver.
A string of films followed, the actor often cast as either a villain or a good guy with potentially questionable motives. Noted roles included that of Eddie Sakamura in the adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel “Rising Sun,” as a Yakuza boss in “Showdown in Little Tokyo,” as a Hong Kong agent in the Bond film “Licence to Kill,” the attack planning Minoru Genda in “Pearl Harbor,” as the ape General Krull in Tim Burton’s “Planet of the Apes,” and as the pirate Kabai Sengh in “The Phantom”.
He also played Master Roshi in “Elektra,” David Deyo in “John Carpenter’s Vampires,” busines mogul David Chan in “The Art of War,” the Baron in “Memoirs of a Geisha,” Zenhichi Miyamoto in “Snow Falling on Cedars,” Sanga in “Kickboxer 2,” Heihachi Mishima in “Tekken,” Shōgun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa in “47 Ronin,” as villager Hashi in “Kubo and the Two Strings” a brief cameo in Ivan Reitman’s comedy “Twins,” and a small role in Michael Mann’s “Heat” telemovie precursor “L.A. Takedown”.
He also had a prolific TV resume. He was part of the main cast of Amazon’s “The Man in the High Castle” in the role of trade minister Nobusuke Tagomi, and had multi-episode arcs on “Miami Vice,” “Nash Bridges,” “Space Rangers,” “Revenge” and Netflix’s “Lost in Space”. His last credited role was as Master Eiji in the acclaimed “Blue Eye Samurai” series.
He also guest-starred on almost every late 1980s and 1990s series you could think of, along with a resurgence in the 2010s. Shows including “Mission: Impossible,” “MacGyver,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Baywatch,” “Jake and the Fatman,” “Babylon 5,” “Alien Nation,” “Moonlighting,” “Knots Landing,” “Superboy,” “Renegade,” “Cybill,” “Nash Bridges,” “Stargate SG-1,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Heroes,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “The Librarians,” “Teen Wolf,” “Grimm,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Star Wars: Rebels,” “NCIS: LA,” and “DuckTales”.
Tagawa is survived by three children, Calen, Brynne and Cana; and his two grandchildren, River and Thea Clayton.
Source: Deadline
