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Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

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Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
田川 洋行
Tagawa in 2011
Born(1950-09-27)27 September 1950
Higashi-Azabu, Tokyo, Japan
Died4 December 2025(2025-12-04) (aged 75)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Other names
  • Cary Tagawa
  • Panteleimon[1]
Citizenship
  • Japan (expatriate)
  • United States
  • Russia[2]
EducationUniversity of Southern California
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active1986–2023
Spouse
Sally Phillips Petersen
​
​
(m. 1984; div. 2014)​
[3][4]
Children3

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese: 田川 洋行, romanized: Tagawa Hiroyuki; 27 September 1950 – 4 December 2025) was an actor and film producer[5] who was best known for his role as the evil shapeshifter sorcerer Shang Tsung in various works of the Mortal Kombat franchise: he first played the character in the 1995 film adaptation, and reprised it in 2013 for the television series Mortal Kombat: Legacy and in 2019 for the video game Mortal Kombat 11. He appeared as Lt. A.J. Shimamura on 15 episodes of the American television series Nash Bridges.

Often cast as villains, he became known for his film roles in: The Last Emperor (1987), the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), American Me (1992), Rising Sun (1993), Mortal Kombat (1995), The Phantom (1996), Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), Pearl Harbor (2001), Planet of the Apes (also 2001), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Tekken (2009), 47 Ronin (2013), Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge (2014), and Kubo and the Two Strings (2016). He starred as Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi on the Amazon Prime television series The Man in the High Castle (2015–2018), and Hiroki Watanabe on the Netflix series Lost in Space (2018–2021).

Life and career

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Early years and education

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Tagawa was born in Tokyo, Japan, the son of Japanese Takarazuka actress Mariko Hata and a Japanese-American father who served in the United States Army and was stationed at: Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Hood, Texas. His mother tongues were English and Japanese, but he also spoke some Russian, Korean and Spanish.[6][7]

As an army brat, Tagawa was raised in various cities. His family finally settled in Southern California, where he began acting while attending Duarte High School.[8] He attended the University of Southern California and was an exchange student in Japan. He studied kendo and Shotokan karate under Masatoshi Nakayama, at the Japan Karate Association.[9]

Acting career

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His breakthrough as an actor came when he was cast as the Eunuch Chang in The Last Emperor (1987).[10] In 1989, he played an undercover agent of the Hong Kong Narcotics Board in the James Bond film Licence to Kill.[11] In 1991, he starred alongside Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee in the action film Showdown in Little Tokyo, where he played the role of yakuza boss Yoshida.[12] He also starred alongside James Hong, Mako Iwamatsu and Jeff Speakman in the same year in the film The Perfect Weapon, where he played Kai, an assistant to the Korean mafia families.[13]

In 1993, he starred as the wayward scion of a Japanese industrialist in Rising Sun. He appeared in the film Mortal Kombat (1995) as the sorcerer Shang Tsung; he reprised the role in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy in 2013,[14] and in the video game Mortal Kombat 11 in 2019. He also appeared as the pirate leader Kabai Sengh in The Phantom (1996). Tagawa is among the actors, producers and directors interviewed in the documentary The Slanted Screen (2006), directed by Jeff Adachi, about the representation of Asian and Asian-American men in Hollywood.[15]

Tagawa played Heihachi Mishima in Tekken, the film adaptation of the video game franchise.[5] In 2006, he provided the voice of Brushogun in Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo.[16] He was in the film Johnny Tsunami (1999) and its sequel Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board (2007). In between those two films, Tagawa played Attar's mentor Krull in Tim Burton's version of Planet of the Apes (2001).

He played Satoshi Takeda in Revenge, a powerful CEO in Japan and Emily Thorne's former mentor in her quest for revenge. In season 2, Tagawa took over the role from Hiroyuki Sanada, who was unable to continue due to scheduling conflicts.[17]

Tagawa also played the role of Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in the 2013 film 47 Ronin.[18]

In 2015, Tagawa was cast as one of the lead characters, Nobusuke Tagomi, the Trade Minister of the Pacific States of America in Amazon's The Man in the High Castle based on Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name. Also in November 2015, both he and Taimak (The Last Dragon) were honorees for the Fists of Legends Legacy Award at the Urban Action Showcase & Expo.[19]

Personal life and death

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In 2015, Tagawa converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, and in 2016, he acquired Russian citizenship.[2]

In the early morning hours of 4 December 2025, Tagawa died at age 75 from complications of a stroke at his home in Santa Barbara, California.[5]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 Big Trouble in Little China Wing Kong Swordsman Uncredited
Armed Response Toshi
1987 The Last Emperor Chang
1988 Bulletproof Thug in flashback Uncredited
Spellbinder Lieutenant Lee
Twins Oriental Man
1989 The Last Warrior Imperial Marine
Licence to Kill Kwang
1991 Kickboxer 2 Sanga
Showdown in Little Tokyo Funekei Yoshida
The Perfect Weapon Kai
1992 Nemesis Angie-Liv
American Me 'El Japo'
1993 Rising Sun Eddie Sakamura
1994 Natural Causes Major Somchal
Picture Bride Kanzuki
1995 The Dangerous Kon
Mortal Kombat Shang Tsung
Soldier Boyz Vinh Moc
1996 White Tiger Victor Chow
The Phantom The Great Kabai Sengh
Danger Zone Monsieur Chang
1997 Top of the World Captain Hefter
Provocateur Captain Jong
Mortal Kombat Annihilation Shang Tsung Archive footage
1998 Vampires David Deyo
American Dragons Matsuyama
1999 Bridge of Dragons General Ruechang
Fixations Alex
Snow Falling on Cedars Zenhichi Miyamoto
2000 The Art of War David Chan
2001 Pearl Harbor Commander Minoru Genda
Planet of the Apes Krull
2005 Elektra Master Roshi
Memoirs of a Geisha The Baron
2006 The Slanted Screen Himself Documentary
2007 Balls of Fury Mysterious Asian Man
Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter Alibek
2008 Lost Warrior: Left Behind Detective Yoshide Direct-to-video
Bodyguard: A New Beginning Kai
2009 By the Will of Chingis Khan Bodyguard
Hachi: A Dog's Tale Ken
Tekken Heihachi Mishima
The Tomb Len Burris
2012 Black Cobra Goro Tanaka Direct-to-video
2013 Duel of Legends Shing Also producer
47 Ronin Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
2014 Hype Nation 3D Sammy Kata
Priest-San Father Nikolai 'Takuro' Nakamura
Ninja Apocalypse Fumitaka Direct-to-video
Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge Heihachi Mishima
Skin Trade Senator Khat
2015 Junction Narrator Voice
Diamond Cartel Khazar
The Man with the Iron Fists 2 The Mayor Direct-to-video
Little Boy Hashimoto
2016 Showdown in Manila Aldric Cole
Beyond the Game Detective Yoshida
Kubo and the Two Strings Hashi Voice
2019 Looking in the Mirror Henry
Girl Games Iwata
2020 Sky Sharks Michael Morel

Short films

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Year Title Role Notes
2005 True Love & Mimosa Tea Andreas Kanaka
The Sand Island Drive-In Anthem Uncle C
2009 The Legend of Chang Apana Chang Apana Also producer
2010 Absolute.ness Chief Dax
Overturned Judge
2015 Genghis Khan Conquers the Moon Genghis Khan
2016 Overwatch: Dragons Narrator / Sojiro Shimada Voice

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 MacGyver Asian Buyer Episode: "Dalton, Jack of Spies"
The Colbys Mr. Sung Episode: "Devil's Advocate"
Star Trek: The Next Generation Mandarin bailiff Episode: "Encounter at Farpoint"
1987–1989 Miami Vice Kenji Fujitsu / Tegoro 2 episodes
1988 Hotel Inspector Chin Episode: "Double Take"
1989 L.A. Takedown Hugh Denny Television film
Superboy Detective Jed Slade Episode: "Terror from the Blue"
Knots Landing Mr. Toyo Episode: "Giganticus II: The Revenge"
Moonlighting Artist Episode: "Perfect"
Peaceable Kingdom Coach Episode: "Chimp"
Alien Nation Yamato Episode: "The First Cigar"
Mission: Impossible Vang Kai Episode: "Countdown"
1990 Jake and the Fatman Raymond Char Episode: "Chinatown, My Chinatown"
Hardball Episode: "Wedding Bell Blues"
The Bakery Kim Lee Television film
Vestige of Honor Thai Major
1991 Baywatch Mason Sato Episode: "War of Nerves"
Not of This World Shikido Television film
Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis Shoji Hashimoto
1992 Raven Osato 2 episodes
1993 Renegade Hirotaka Episode: "Samurai"
1993–1994 Space Rangers Zylyn 6 episodes
1994 Day of Reckoning Prakit Television film
1995 Babylon 5 Morishi Episode: "Convictions"
Thunder in Paradise 3 Mason Lee Television film
1996 Cybill Kenji Episode: "Cybill and Maryann Go to Japan"
Sabrina the Teenage Witch Tai Wei Tse Episode: "Sweet & Sour Victory"
1996–1997 Nash Bridges Lieutenant A.J. Shimamura 15 episodes
1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child King Young-Jin Voice; episode: "The Little Mermaid"
Raven: Return of the Black Dragon Osato Television film
Stargate SG-1 Turghan Episode: "Emancipation"
1998 Poltergeist: The Legacy Sam Tanaka Episode: "The Internment"
Vengeance Unlimited Aung Myint Episode: "Ambition"
1999 Seven Days Peter Episode: "Walter"
Johnny Tsunami Johnny Tsunami Television film
NetForce Leong Cheng
2000 Walker, Texas Ranger Master Ko Episode: "Black Dragons"
2003 Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding Mason Sato Television film
2004 Hawaii Captain Terry Harada
2005 Faith of My Fathers Cat Television film
2006 Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo Brushogun Voice; television film[20]
2007 Heroes The Swordsmith 2 episodes
Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board Johnny Tsunami Television film
2008 Ghost Voyage The Steward
2009 Beyond the Break Xander 2 episodes
2010 Hawaii Five-0 Hiro Noshimori
2012–2013 Revenge Satoshi Takeda 6 episodes
2014 Teen Wolf Katashi / Silverfinger Episode: "Silverfinger"
The Librarians Mr. Drake Episode: "And the Apple of Discord"
2015–2018 The Man in the High Castle Nobusuke Tagomi Main cast
2016 Grimm Takeshi Himura Episode: "Inugami"
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sumo Kuma Voice; 2 episodes[20]
2017 Star Wars Rebels Alrich Wren
2018 Lost in Space Hiroki Watanabe 5 episodes
2019 A Lover Scorned Wong Television film
2020 DuckTales Akita Voice; episode: "Astro B.O.Y.D.!"[20]
2021 Star Wars: Visions Valco Voice; episode: "The Village Bride"
English language dub[21][20]
NCIS: Los Angeles Craig Tanaka Episode: "Fukushu"
2023 Blue Eye Samurai Master Eiji Voice[20][22]

Web

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Year Title Role Notes
2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Shang Tsung 2 episodes

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
1997 Soldier Boyz Vinh Moc
2003 Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Sin Tzu [20]
2016 World of Warcraft: Legion Voice over cast
2019–2020 Mortal Kombat 11 Shang Tsung Voice and physical likeness; appears as downloadable content[20]
2023 Mortal Kombat: Onslaught Physical likeness

Bibliography

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  • Paul, Louis (2008). "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa". Tales from the Cult Film Trenches: Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 254–261. ISBN 978-0-7864-2994-3.

References

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  1. ^ "The Hollywood Samurai that was baptised Christian Orthodox and now called Panteleimon". Greek City Times. 12 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  2. ^ a b Zubacheva, Ksenia (25 August 2017). "Seeking new citizenship: 10 foreign celebrities that now call Russia home". Russia Beyond the Headlines. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017.
  3. ^ Yash Nitish Bajaj. "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa family: Who is ex-wife Sally Phillips and Mortal Kombat star's children?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  4. ^ Gupta, Kriti. "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Passes Away, Divorced Wife, Sally Phillips After 30 Years, Had Three Children". BollywoodShaadis. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Tapp, Tom (4 December 2025). "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Dies: 'Mortal Kombat, 'Last Emperor' & 'Man in the High Castle' Actor Was 75". Deadline Hollywood.
  6. ^ Profile Archived 22 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 25 May 2011; accessed 30 March 2016.
  7. ^ Profile Archived 12 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 11 September 2003; accessed 30 March 2016.
  8. ^ Coleman, Ryan; Gettell, Oliver (4 December 2025). "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Mortal Kombat and Man in the High Castle star, dies at 75". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  9. ^ Wilson, Terry (2 October 2010). "The Invisible Strength of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa". Martial Arts & Action Entertainment. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  10. ^ Carbonaro, Giulia (5 December 2025). "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Cause of Death: What We Know After Actor Dies Age 75". Newsweek.
  11. ^ "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (1950–2025)". mi6-hq.com. 4 December 2025.
  12. ^ Robledo, Anthony (4 December 2025). "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, 'Mortal Kombat' and 'Pearl Harbor' actor, dies at 75". USA Today.
  13. ^ Magnotta, Ernie. "Review: "the perfect weapon" (1991) starring jeff speakman, john dye and mako; kino lorber blu-ray". cinemaretro.com.
  14. ^ Chavez, Kellvin (2012). "Web Series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2' Hitting February 17th". Latino Review. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  15. ^ "The Slanted Screen". americanarchive.org. American Archive of Public Broadcasting.
  16. ^ Bose, Sayan (4 December 2025). "Hollywood actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa dies after stroke". U.S. Sun.
  17. ^ Keck, William (15 August 2012). "Keck's Exclusives: Revenge Recasts a Role". TV Guide. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  18. ^ "47 Ronin: trama, recensione, cast e trailer del film con Keanu Reeves". Controcampus (in Italian). 14 June 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  19. ^ "2015 Urban Action Showcase International Action Film Festival & Honoree Awards". YouTube. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 5 December 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  21. ^ "Stunning New Star Wars: Visions Trailer Debuts". StarWars.com. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  22. ^ Otterson, Joe (9 October 2020). "Netflix Sets Overall Deal with Michael Green, Orders Animated Series 'Blue Eye Samurai'". Variety. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
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