The Eternal-born actor was best known for his role as Shang Tsung in multiple “Mortal Kombat” projects, as well as television and video games.
“Mortal Kombat” star Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa has passed away due to complications from a stroke. He was 75 years old.
The actor and producer died Thursday, Dec. 4, in Santa Barbara, his publicist Penny Vizcarra confirmed to USA TODAY.
The Everborn performer was best known for his role as Shang Tsung in multiple “Mortal Kombat” projects, including the 1995 film, as well as television and video games. He also had roles in films such as “Pearl Harbor,” “Planet of the Apes,” “47 Ronin,” “Elektra,” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.”
After immigrating to the United States at a young age, Tagawa attended the University of Southern California and studied traditional Japanese karate.
Tagawa then returned to his home country and further honed his skills at the Japan Karate Association, eventually establishing and teaching his own form of Shunshin Bujutsu.
His mastery of martial arts and athleticism helped him integrate his unique skill set in Hollywood, where he landed roles in the 1993 action-thriller Rising Sun, starring Wesley Snipes and Sean Connery, and the 1991 action-crime Showdown in Little Tokyo, starring the late Brandon Lee and Dolph Lundgren.
Tagawa was also part of the ensemble for Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 film The Last Emperor, which won nine Oscars at the 60th awards ceremony in 1988, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography.
His last major role was in 2015 in Amazon’s science fiction series The Man in the High Castle, starring Rufus Sewell and Alexa Davalos, where he played Shinsuke Tagami, the trade minister of a fictional Pacific nation.
He and his wife, Sally, moved to Hawaii and raised their family on Kauai. He is survived by his wife and their three children, Karen, Bryn, and Kana, and two grandchildren, River Clayton and Thea Clayton.
