Japanese-American actor (born 1950)
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Tagawa in 2011
Born (1950-09-27 ) September 27, 1950 (age 74) Other names Cary Tagawa Citizenship United States Education University of Southern California Occupation(s) Actor, producer Years active 1985–present Spouse
Sally Phillips
(
m. 1984)
Children 3
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese : 田川 洋行 , romanized : Tagawa Hiroyuki Japanese-American actor and producer.
Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in The Last Emperor James Bond film Licence to Kill Showdown in Little Tokyo American Me Rising Sun Mortal Kombat The Phantom Snow Falling on Cedars Pearl Harbor Planet of the Apes Memoirs of a Geisha Tekken 47 Ronin Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge Kubo and the Two Strings Amazon Prime television series The Man in the High Castle Netflix series Lost in Space
Tagawa is known for his role as the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in various works of the Mortal Kombat 1995 film adaptation , and reprised it in 2013 for the television series Mortal Kombat: Legacy Mortal Kombat 11
Early life
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 are English and Japanese but he also speaks some Korean and Spanish.[ 1] [ 2]
As an army brat , Tagawa was raised in various cities. His family finally settled in Southern California , where he began acting in high school while attending Duarte High School . 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 .[ 3]
Career
His breakthrough as an actor came when he was cast as the Eunuch Chang in The Last Emperor Narcotics Board in the James Bond film Licence to Kill Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee in the action film Showdown in Little Tokyo yakuza boss Yoshida. He also starred alongside James Hong , Mako Iwamatsu and Jeff Speakman in the same year in the film The Perfect Weapon
In 1993, he starred as the wayward scion of a Japanese industrialist in Rising Sun Sean Connery , Wesley Snipes , and Harvey Keitel 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 Mortal Kombat Shang Tsung ; he reprised the role in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy [ 4] Mortal Kombat 11 The Phantom The Slanted Screen Jeff Adachi , about the representation of Asian and Asian-American men in Hollywood.
Tagawa played Heihachi Mishima in Tekken Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo Johnny Tsunami Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board Tim Burton 's version of Planet of the Apes
He played Satoshi Takeda in Revenge 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.[ 5]
Tagawa also plays the role of Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in the 2013 film47 Ronin [ 6]
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 Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name . Also in November 2015, both he and Taimak (The Last Dragon [ 7]
In 2013, Tagawa started working with Russian film actors Pyotr Mamonov and Ivan Okhlobystin .[ 8]
Personal life
In 2015, Tagawa converted to Eastern Orthodoxy , and in 2016, he acquired Russian citizenship.[ 9]
Filmography
Film
Short films
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
Web
Video games
Bibliography
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
^ Profile Archived 2006-08-22 at the Wayback Machine , starbulletin.com, May 25, 2011; accessed March 30, 2016.^ Profile Archived 2004-12-12 at the Wayback Machine , starbulletin.com, September 11, 2003; accessed March 30, 2016.^ Wilson, Terry (2010-10-02). "The Invisible Strength of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa" . Martial Arts & Action Entertainment . Retrieved 2021-12-26 . ^ "Web Series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2′ Hitting February 17th" . Latino Review . Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2012-12-03 .^ Keck, William (August 15, 2012). "Keck's Exclusives: Revenge Recasts a Role" (TV Guide); retrieved August 16, 2012.
^ "47 Ronin: trama, recensione, cast e trailer del film con Keanu Reeves" . Controcampus (in Italian). 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2019-08-19 .^ "2015 Urban Action Showcase International Action Film Festival & Honoree Awards" . YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2015-12-14 .^ "This is just the beginning of my Russian career" [permanent dead link ] ^ Seeking new citizenship: 10 foreign celebrities that now call Russia home ^ "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Akita" . www.imdb.com .^ "Stunning New Star Wars: Visions Trailer Debuts" . StarWars.com . 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2021-08-17 .^ Otterson, Joe (2020-10-09). "Netflix Sets Overall Deal With Michael Green, Orders Animated Series 'Blue Eye Samurai' . Variety. Retrieved 2020-10-12 .
External links
International National Other
