| Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa | |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Birth Place: | Higashi-Azabu, Tokyo, Japan |
| Years Active: | 1985–present |
| Citizenship: | United States Russia (since 2016) |
| Other Names: | Cary Tagawa Panteleymon Tagawa |
| Education: | University of Southern California |
| Occupation: | Actor, film producer |
| Children: | 3 |
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese: 田川 洋行|Tagawa Hiroyuki; born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese-American actor and film producer.
Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in The Last Emperor (1987), the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), American Me (1992), Rising Sun (1993), Mortal Kombat (1995), The Phantom (1996), Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), Pearl Harbor (2001), Planet of the Apes (also 2001), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Tekken (2009), 47 Ronin (2013), (2014), and Kubo and the Two Strings (2017). He starred as Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi on the Amazon Prime television series The Man in the High Castle (2015–2018) and Hiroki Watanabe on the Netflix series Lost in Space (2018–2021).
Tagawa is known for his role as the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in various works of the Mortal Kombat franchise: he first played the character in the 1995 film adaptation, and reprised it in 2013 for the television series and in 2019 for the video game Mortal Kombat 11.
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]
His breakthrough as an actor came when he was cast as the Eunuch Chang in The Last Emperor (1987). In 1989, he played an undercover agent of the Hong Kong Narcotics Board in the James Bond film Licence to Kill. In 1991, he starred alongside Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee in the action film Showdown in Little Tokyo, where he played the role of yakuza boss Yoshida. He also starred alongside James Hong, Mako Iwamatsu and Jeff Speakman 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, 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 (1995) as the sorcerer Shang Tsung; he reprised the role in the web series in 2013,[4] and in the video game Mortal Kombat 11 in 2019. He also appeared as the deadly pirate leader Kabai Sengh in The Phantom (1996). Tagawa is among the actors, producers and directors interviewed in the documentary The Slanted Screen (2006), directed by Jeff Adachi, about the representation of Asian and Asian-American men in Hollywood.
Tagawa played Heihachi Mishima in Tekken, the film adaptation of the video game franchise. In 2006, he provided the voice of Brushogun in . He was in the film Johnny Tsunami (1999) and its sequel (2007). In between those two films, Tagawa played Attar's mentor Krull in Tim Burton's version of Planet of the Apes (2001).
He played Satoshi Takeda in Revenge, a powerful 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 based on Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name. Also in November 2015, both he and Taimak (The Last Dragon) were honorees for the Fists of Legends Legacy Award at the Urban Action Showcase & Expo.[7]
In 2013, Tagawa started working with Russian film actors Pyotr Mamonov and Ivan Okhlobystin.[8]
In 2015, Tagawa converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, and in 2016, he acquired Russian citizenship.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Big Trouble in Little China | Wing Kong Swordsman | Uncredited | |
| Armed Response | Toshi | |||
| 1987 | The Last Emperor | Chang | ||
| 1988 | Bulletproof | Thug In Flashback | Uncredited | |
| Spellbinder | Lieutenant Lee | |||
| Twins | Oriental Man | |||
| 1989 | The Last Warrior | Imperial Marine | ||
| Licence to Kill | Kwang | |||
| 1991 | Kickboxer 2 | Sanga | ||
| Showdown in Little Tokyo | Funekei Yoshida | |||
| The Perfect Weapon | Kai | |||
| 1992 | Nemesis | Angie-Liv | ||
| American Me | 'El Japo' | |||
| 1993 | Rising Sun | Eddie Sakamura | ||
| 1994 | Natural Causes | Major Somchal | ||
| Picture Bride | Kanzuki | |||
| 1995 | The Dangerous | Kon | ||
| Mortal Kombat | Shang Tsung | |||
| Soldier Boyz | Vinh Moc | |||
| 1996 | White Tiger | Victor Chow | ||
| The Phantom | The Great Kabai Sengh | |||
| Danger Zone | Monsieur Chang | |||
| 1997 | Top of the World | Captain Hefter | ||
| Mortal Kombat Annihilation | Shang Tsung | Archive footage | ||
| 1998 | Vampires | David Deyo | ||
| Provocateur | Captain Jong | |||
| American Dragons | Matsuyama | |||
| 1999 | Bridge of Dragons | General Ruechang | ||
| Fixations | Alex | |||
| Snow Falling on Cedars | Zenhichi Miyamoto | |||
| 2000 | The Art of War | David Chan | ||
| 2001 | Pearl Harbor | Commander Minoru Genda | ||
| Planet of the Apes | Krull | |||
| 2005 | Elektra | Master Roshi | ||
| Memoirs of a Geisha | The Baron | |||
| 2006 | The Slanted Screen | Himself | Documentary film | |
| Brushogun | Voice | |||
| 2007 | Balls of Fury | Mysterious Asian Man | ||
| Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter | Alibek | |||
| 2008 | Lost Warrior: Left Behind | Detective Yoshide | Video | |
| Bodyguard: A New Beginning | Kai | |||
| 2009 | By the Will of Chingis Khan | Bodyguard | ||
| Ken | ||||
| Tekken | Heihachi Mishima | |||
| The Tomb | Len Burris | |||
| 2012 | Black Cobra | Goro Tanaka | Video | |
| 2013 | 47 Ronin | Tokugawa Tsunayoshi | ||
| 2014 | Hype Nation 3D | Sammy Kata | ||
| Priest-San | Father Nikolai 'Takuro' Nakamura | |||
| Ninja Apocalypse | Fumitaka | |||
| Heihachi Mishima | ||||
| Skin Trade | Senator Khat | |||
| 2015 | Junction | Narrator | Voice | |
| The Man with the Iron Fists 2 | The Mayor | |||
| Little Boy | Hashimoto | |||
| 2016 | Showdown in Manila | Aldric Cole | ||
| Beyond the Game | Detective Yoshida | |||
| Kubo and the Two Strings | Hashi | Voice | ||
| 2017 | The Whole World at Our Feet | Khazar | ||
| 2023 | Duel of Legends | Sting | ||
| 2024 | Reagan | Yasuhiro Nakasone[10] |
| 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 | ||
| 2010 | Absolute.ness | Chief Dax | ||
| Overturned | Judge | |||
| 2015 | Genghis Khan Conquers the Moon | Genghis Khan | ||
| 2016 | Overwatch: Dragons | Narrator / Sojiro Shimada | Voice |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | MacGyver | Asian Buyer | Episode: "Dalton, Jack of Spies" | |
| The Colbys | Mr. Sung | Episode: "Devil's Advocate" | ||
| Mandarin Bailiff | Episode: "Encounter at Farpoint" | |||
| 1987–1989 | Miami Vice | Kenji Fujitsu, Tegoro | 2 episodes | |
| 1988 | Hotel | Inspector Chin | Episode: "Double Take" | |
| 1989 | L.A. Takedown | Hugh Denny | Television film | |
| Superboy | Detective Jed Slade | Episode: "Terror from the Blue" | ||
| Knots Landing | Mr. Toyo | Episode: "Giganticus II: The Revenge" | ||
| Moonlighting | Artist | Episode: "Perfetc" | ||
| A Peaceable Kingdom | Coach | Episode: "Chimp" | ||
| Alien Nation | Yamato | Episode: "The First Cigar" | ||
| Mission: Impossible | Vang Kai | Episode: "Countdown" | ||
| 1990 | Jake and the Fatman | Raymond Char | Episode: "Chinatown, My Chinatown" | |
| Hardball | Episode: "Wedding Bell Blues" | |||
| The Bakery | Kim Lee | Television film | ||
| Vestige of Honor | Thai Major | |||
| 1991 | Baywatch | Mason Sato | Episode: "War of Nerves" | |
| Not of This World | Shikido | Television film | ||
| Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis | Shoji Hashimoto | |||
| 1992 | Raven | Osato | 2 episodes | |
| 1993 | Renegade | Hirotaka | Episode: "Samurai" | |
| 1993–1994 | Space Rangers | Zylyn | 6 episodes | |
| 1994 | Day of Reckoning | Prakit | Television film | |
| 1995 | Babylon 5 | Morishi | Episode: "Convictions" | |
| Thunder in Paradise 3 | Mason Lee | Television film | ||
| 1996 | Cybill | Kenji | Episode: "Cybill and Maryann Go to Japan" | |
| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Tai Wei Tse | Episode: "Sweet & Sour Victory" | ||
| 1996–1997 | Nash Bridges | Lieutenant A.J. Shimamura | 12 episodes | |
| 1997 | King Young-Jin | Episode: "The Little Mermaid" | ||
| Raven: Return of the Black Dragon | Osato | Television film | ||
| Stargate SG-1 | Turghan | Episode: "Emancipation" | ||
| 1998 | Sam Tanaka | Episode: "The Internment" | ||
| Vengeance Unlimited | Aung Myint | Episode: "Ambition" | ||
| 1999 | Seven Days | Peter | Episode: "Walter" | |
| Johnny Tsunami | Johnny Tsunami | Television film | ||
| NetForce | Leong Cheng | |||
| 2000 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Master Ko | Episode: "Black Dragons" | |
| 2003 | Mason Sato | Television film | ||
| 2004 | Hawaii | Captain Terry Harada | ||
| 2005 | Faith of My Fathers | Cat | Television film | |
| 2007 | Heroes | The Swordsmith | 2 episodes | |
| Johnny Tsunami | Television film | |||
| 2008 | Ghost Voyage | The Steward | ||
| 2009 | Beyond the Break | Xander | 2 episodes | |
| 2010 | Hawaii Five-0 | Hiro Noshimori | 2 episodes | |
| 2012–2013 | Revenge | Satoshi Takeda | 6 episodes | |
| 2014 | Teen Wolf | Katashi / Silverfinger | Episode: "Silverfinger" | |
| The Librarians | Mr. Drake | Episode: "And the Apple of Discord" | ||
| 2015–2018 | The Man in the High Castle | Nobusuke Tagomi | Main cast | |
| 2016 | Grimm | Takeshi Himura | Episode: "Inugami" | |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Sumo Kuma | Voice, 2 episodes | ||
| 2017 | Star Wars Rebels | Alrich Wren | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| 2018 | Lost in Space | Hiroki Watanabe | 5 episodes | |
| 2020 | DuckTales | Akita | Voice, episode: "Astro B.O.Y.D.!" [11] | |
| 2021 | Valco | Voice, short film: The Village Bride: English language dub[12] | ||
| 2021 | Craig Tanaka | Episode: "Fukushu" | ||
| 2023 | Blue Eye Samurai[13] | Master Eiji |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Soldier Boyz | Vinh Moc | |
| 2003 | Sin Tzu | ||
| 2016 | Voice Over Cast | ||
| 2019–2020 | Mortal Kombat 11 | Shang Tsung | Voice and physical likeness; appears as downloadable content |
| 2023 | physical likeness |