Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who played evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in the “Mortal Kombat” franchise and appeared in “The Last Emperor,” “Licence to Kill," and “The Man in the High Castle,” died Thursday in Santa Barbara. He was 75.
The veteran actor and producer died of complications from a stroke, surrounded by his children.
Tagawa enjoyed a prolific career of nearly forty years acting across film, television, and video games. He is most recognisable to fans of Mortal Kombat for playing Shang Tsung, the villainous sorcerer and the main antagonist of the franchise.
In 1987, Tagawa landed his first film role in Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor," which was followed by casting as the villain Kwang in the 1989 James Bond movie “Licence to Kill”.
On TV, he had a recurring role on “Nash Bridges” and guest spots on dozens of series including “Miami Vice,” “Knots Landing,” “Moonlighting” and “Baywatch.”
Kagawa is known for his role as Shang Tsung in the “Mortal Kombat” franchise. He appeared in the first film adaptation in 1995 and went on to appear in the TV series “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” in 2013 and lent his voice to the more recent “Mortal Kombat 11” video game.
His manager, Margie Weiner, said, “I had the privilege of representing Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa for many years as his long time manager, but our relationship grew into something far deeper — he became like family. Cary was a rare soul: generous, thoughtful, and endlessly committed to his craft. His loss is immeasurable. My heart is with his family, friends, and all who loved him.”
His other film roles include “Rising Sun,” “Snow Falling on Cedars,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Planet of the Apes,” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.”
In Amazon’s TV series “The Man in the High Castle,” Tagawa starred as Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi; in Netflix’s “Lost in Space,” he played Hiroki Watanabe.
Though he often played villains, Tagawa told the Honolulu Advertiser in 2007 that the type-casting was inevitable at the time. “Guaranteed, I wouldn’t have gotten to play good guys if I hadn’t played those bad guys,” Tagawa said.
“It’s something you take pride in, being not only the best Asian bad guy you can be, but the best of all bad guys. I wasn’t willing to do anything to get in, but I think I developed the ability to take what I was given and do the best job I could,” he said.
Born on September 27, 1950, in Tokyo to an actress mother and a Japanese American father who served in the military, Tagawa attended high school near Los Angeles, where he first started acting, and then attended USC.
He began teaching his own style of martial arts called Chu Shin.
Tagawa is survived by his children Calen, Byrnne and Cana, and two grandchildren, River and Thea Clayton.
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