Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Last Emperor’ Star, Dies at 75
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, a prolific actor celebrated for his commanding presence and diverse roles spanning film, television, and video games, died Thursday in Santa Barbara, California. He was 75 years old. His family confirmed to Deadline that Tagawa passed away due to complications from a stroke, surrounded by his children.
Tagawa achieved widespread recognition for his portrayal of the iconic villain Shang Tsung across multiple iterations of the Mortal Kombat franchise. He first embodied the sorcerer in New Line Cinema’s 1995 film adaptation, a project that grossed over $100 million on a $20 million budget, and reprised the role in 1997’s Mortal Kombat Annihilation. His connection to the franchise continued with appearances in the 2013 web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, a 2015 episode of Mortal Kombat X: Generations, a voice performance in the 2019 video game Mortal Kombat 11, and a physical likeness contribution to the 2023 role-playing game Mortal Kombat: Onslaught.
“It was the perfect timing in that Mortal Kombat as a video game, at the time we did the film, was on number four or five and that the impact of the film certainly had to do with the build of the video games,” Tagawa reflected on the film’s success. He also lauded director Paul W.S. Anderson, stating that he “was the first one in martial arts history to apply such music — really upbeat, driving metal music. You couldn’t sit still when you heard the music. And it matched the action so well.”
Beyond Mortal Kombat, Tagawa showcased his versatility in a range of projects. He took on the role of Heihachi Mishima in the 1991 film Tekken, and lent his voice to video games like Soldier Boyz, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, and World of Warcraft: Legion. However, his breakout role came with Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 Oscar-winning film, The Last Emperor, where he played Chang, the emperor’s driver.
Following The Last Emperor, Tagawa consistently appeared in high-profile studio films that often explored the intersection of Asian and Western cultures. His extensive filmography includes License to Kill, Rising Sun, Snow Falling on Cedars, Pearl Harbor, Planet of the Apes, Elektra, Memoirs of a Geisha, and 47 Ronin. Many of these roles allowed him to utilize his considerable martial arts skills.
Born in Tokyo, Tagawa began his martial arts training in Kendo during junior high school. His family relocated to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, when he was five, an experience he described as his “first real lesson in how to use the martial arts.” He continued his training, focusing on traditional Japanese karate at the University of Southern California at age 21, and later studied under Master Nakayama with the Japan Karate Association. He ultimately developed his own system of Chun-Shin, which he described as “a study of energy … completely without a physical fighting concept.”
Tagawa collaborated with a distinguished roster of directors throughout his four-decade career, including Philip Kaufman, Tim Burton, Michael Bay, Rob Marshall, Ivan Reitman, and John Carpenter. He first appeared on screen in an uncredited role in Carpenter’s 1986 cult classic, Big Trouble in Little China, and quickly followed it with roles in MacGyver, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Miami Vice.
In 2015, Tagawa delivered a compelling performance as Nobusuke Tagomi in Amazon’s critically acclaimed series, The Man in the High Castle. The show, set in an alternate history where the Axis powers won World War II, saw Tagomi navigating the complexities of a nation divided between Japanese and Nazi occupation. The actor noted parallels between his own life story and that of Tagomi, explaining, “I identified so much with this character and so much of my life experience — having been born in Tokyo and then coming to America just after the war… I understood and grew up with the legacy of the war. So to be good, bad and ugly — being different — [is the same] as with my character Tagomi, who seems to be the only one running around talking about peace.”
His television credits also include roles as Lt. A.J. Shimamura on Nash Bridges, Captain Terry Harada on NBC’s Hawaii, Satoshi Takeda on ABC’s Revenge, a six-episode arc on Netflix’s Lost in Space, and most recently, voicing The Swordmaker in Season 1 of Netflix’s animated Blue Eye Samurai.
Tagawa resided on the island of Kauai with his wife, Sally, where they raised their two children. He is survived by his three children, Calen, Brynne, and Cana, as well as his two grandchildren, River and Thea Clayton. His legacy as a versatile and impactful actor will undoubtedly endure through his extensive body of work.
