Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, a Hollywood mainstay recognized for roles in “The Last Emperor,” “The Man in the High Castle,” and the “Mortal Kombat” films, has died in Santa Barbara, California. He was 75.
Tagawa’s early breakthrough came with standout roles in The Last Emperor (1987), the Academy Award-winning epic directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, followed by an appearance in the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989). Later, he appeared in the thriller Rising Sun (1993) alongside Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes. He also appeared in films such as Showdown in Little Tokyo, Rising Sun, Snow Falling on Cedars, Pearl Harbor, “Planet of the Apes,” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.”
Born in Tokyo on September 27, 1950, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa grew up between two worlds. His father’s career in the U.S. Army and his mother’s work as a Japanese actress exposed him early to both American and Japanese traditions. Moving between Texas and Southern California as a child, he became fluent in English and Japanese, shaping the bicultural identity that would later define his career.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is a huge part of the Mortal Kombat world. He first played the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie, and his performance quickly became a fan favorite. His famous line, “Your soul is mine,” is still remembered today. Tagawa returned to the role in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy in 2013, bringing the same energy and intensity. Years later, he came back again for the video game Mortal Kombat 11.
In a 2007 interview with the Honolulu Advertiser, Tagawa shared 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,”. According to him, “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,”.