Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (; born September 27, 1950) is a

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in ranking to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

actor and producer. Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in: ''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' () is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted from Puyi's 1964 auto ...

'' (1987), the

James Bond film James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Niv ...

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond (literary character), J ...

'' (1989), ''

Showdown in Little Tokyo ''Showdown in Little Tokyo'' is a 1991 American buddy cop action film directed by Mark L. Lester and starring Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee; it was the latter's first American film role. The film was released in the United States on August 23, ...

'' (1991), '' American Me'' (1992), '' Rising Sun'' (1993), ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

'' (1995), ''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

'' (1996), ''

Snow Falling on Cedars ''Snow Falling on Cedars'' is a 1994 novel by David Guterson. Guterson, a teacher, wrote the book in the early morning hours over ten years, until eventually quitting his job to write full-time, following its success. Plot Set on the fictional ...

'' (1999), ''

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

'' (2001), ''Planet of the Apes'' (also 2001), ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005), ''Tekken'' (2009), ''

47 Ronin 47, 47 or forty-seven may refer to: *47 (number) * 47 BC * AD 47 *1947 *2047 * '47 (brand), an American clothing brand * ''47'' (magazine), an American publication * 47 (song), a song by Sidhu Moose Wala *47, a song by New Found Glory from the a ...

'' (2013), '' Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge'' (2014), and ''

Kubo and the Two Strings ''Kubo and the Two Strings'' is a 2016 American animated fantasy film directed by Travis Knight and written by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler. Produced by Laika, the film stars the voices of Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, Roone ...

'' (2017). He starred as Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi on the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

television series ''

The Man in the High Castle ''The Man in the High Castle'' is an alternative history novel by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1962, which imagines a world in which the Axis Powers won World War II. The story occurs in 1962, fifteen years after the end of the war in 1 ...

'' (2015–2018) and Hiroki Watanabe on the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 J ...

'' (2018–2021). Tagawa is known for his role as the evil sorcerer

Shang Tsung Shang Tsung () is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists of the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. He debuted as the antagonist of ''Mortal Kombat'' (1992) and has remained one of ...

in various works of the ''

'' 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 ''Mortal Kombat 11'' is a 2019 fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series and a sequel to '' Mortal Kombat X'' (20 ...

''.

Early life

Tagawa was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan, the son of Japanese Takarazuka actress Mariko Hata and a Japanese-American father who served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and was stationed at:

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

, North Carolina;

Fort Polk Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. Named after New Yo ...

, Louisiana; and

Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

, Texas. His mother tongues are English and Japanese, but he also speaks some Korean and Spanish. As an

army brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

, Tagawa was raised in various cities. His family finally settled in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, where he began acting in high school while attending

Duarte High School Duarte High School is a public high school located in Duarte, California and is part of Duarte Unified School District. Duarte High School had 764 students enrolled as of 2024. Their mascot is the falcon. It was recognized as a California Dist ...

. He attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and was an

exchange student A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or higher education study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, bu ...

in Japan. He studied

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...

and

Shotokan karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thr ...

under

Masatoshi Nakayama was an internationally famous Japanese master of Shotokan karate.

, at the

Japan Karate Association The Japan Karate Association (日本空手協会; ''Nihon Karate Kyokai''; JKA; sometimes referred to simply as ''Kyokai'' 協会 in Japan) is one of the oldest global Shotokan karate organizations in the world. Origins Gichin Funakoshi played ...

Career

His breakthrough as an actor came when he was cast as the

Eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

Chang in ''

'' (1987). In 1989, he played an undercover agent of the Hong Kong

Narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

Board in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film ''

''. In 1991, he starred alongside

Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...

and

Brandon Lee Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed what was to be his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the supernatural superhero fi ...

in the action film ''

'', where he played the role of

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

boss Yoshida. He also starred alongside

James Hong James Hong (born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. Known as one of the most prolific character actors of all time, he has worked in over 400 productions in U.S. media since the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1950s. ...

Mako Iwamatsu was a Japanese-American actor, credited mononymously in almost all of his acting roles as simply Mako (マコ), pronounced "MAH-ko". His career in film, on television, and on stage spanned five decades and 165 productions. He was an Academy Aw ...

and

Jeff Speakman Jeff Speakman (born November 8, 1958) is an American actor and a martial artist in the art of American Kenpo and Japanese Gōjū-ryū, earning black belts in each. Between 2008 and 2018, he was President of the International Kempo Federation. ...

in the same year in the film '' The Perfect Weapon'', where he played Kai, an assistant to the Korean mafia families. In 1993, he starred as the wayward scion of a Japanese industrialist in '' Rising Sun'', where

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. In a film career spanning more than thirty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, th ...

, and

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...

played detectives holding various viewpoints about the murder of a young woman that Tagawa's character was being framed for. He appeared in the film ''

'' (1995) as the sorcerer

; he reprised the role in the

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

'' Mortal Kombat: Legacy'' in 2013, and in the video game ''

'' in 2019. He also appeared as the deadly pirate leader Kabai Sengh in ''

'' (1996). Tagawa is among the actors, producers and directors interviewed in the documentary ''

The Slanted Screen ''The Slanted Screen'' is a 2006 documentary film written, produced, and directed by Jeff Adachi which examines the stereotypical portrayals and absence of East Asian males in the cinema of the United States. The film analyzes Hollywood from the ...

'' (2006), directed by

Jeff Adachi Jeffrey Gordon Adachi (August 29, 1959 – February 22, 2019) was an American attorney, pension reform advocate, and politician who served as the Public Defender of San Francisco from 2003 to 2019. Early life and education Adachi was the ...

, about the representation of Asian and Asian-American men in Hollywood. Tagawa played

Heihachi Mishima is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists of Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bandai Namco's ''Tekken'' series. Introduced as a boss character in the first ''Tekken (video game), Tekken'' game from 1994, Heihachi is depicted as the Chi ...

in ''

Tekken is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The main games in the series follow the events ...

'', the film adaptation of the video game franchise. In 2006, he provided the voice of Brushogun in '' Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo''. 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 Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's version of ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

'' (2001). He played Satoshi Takeda in ''

Revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

'', a powerful

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

in Japan and Emily Thorne's former mentor in her quest for revenge. In season 2, Tagawa took over the role from

Hiroyuki Sanada Hiroyuki Sanada (; ; born 12 October 1960) is a Japanese actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a British Academy Television Award, a Japan Academy Film Prize, two Hochi Film Award ...

, who was unable to continue due to scheduling conflicts. Tagawa also plays the role of Shogun

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis- ...

in the 2013 film''

''. In 2015, Tagawa was cast as one of the lead characters, Nobusuke Tagomi, the Trade Minister of the Pacific States of America in

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

's ''

'' based on Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name. Also in November 2015, both he and

Taimak Taimak Guarriello (born June 27, 1964), known mononymously as Taimak (), is an American actor, martial artist and stuntman, known for his lead role as Leroy Green ("Bruce Leroy") in the 1985 martial arts film ''The Last Dragon''. Personal life ...

(''

The Last Dragon ''The Last Dragon'' (sometimes listed as ''Berry Gordy's'' ''The Last Dragon'') is a 1985 American musical Martial arts film directed by Michael Schultz, written by Louis Venosta, and produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy. The film star ...

'') were honorees for the Fists of Legends Legacy Award at the Urban Action Showcase & Expo. In 2013, Tagawa started working with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n film actors

Pyotr Mamonov Pyotr Nikolayevich Mamonov (, ; 14 April 1951 – 15 July 2021) was a Russian rock musician and the frontman of the Moscow band Zvuki Mu, as well as a stage and film actor. Early life Pyotr Nikolayevich Mamonov was born on 14 April 1951 to a ...

and

Ivan Okhlobystin Ivan Ivanovich Okhlobystin (; born 22 July 1966) is a Russian actor, director, screenwriter, and former Orthodox priest. He was defrocked by the Russian Orthodox Church and barred from performing priestly rites because of the roles he played ...

Personal life

In 2015, Tagawa converted to

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, and in 2016, he acquired Russian citizenship.Seeking new citizenship: 10 foreign celebrities that now call Russia home
/ref>

Filmography

Film

Short films

Television

Web

Video games

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tagawa, Cary-Hiroyuki 1950 births American emigrants to Russia American male actors of Japanese descent American male film actors American male karateka American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodox Christians from Japan Japanese emigrants to the United States Japanese emigrants to Russia Japanese male film actors Japanese male karateka Japanese male television actors Japanese male video game actors Japanese male voice actors Living people Male actors from Tokyo People from Minato, Tokyo Russian Orthodox Christians from the United States University of Southern California alumni People with multiple citizenship Naturalized citizens of Russia 20th-century Japanese sportsmen Hawaii people of Japanese descent