| James Yaegashi | |
| Birth Date: | 10 October 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Yokohama, Japan |
| Alma Mater: | University of Missouri–Kansas City |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1999–present |
| Spouse: | Tami Schuch |
| Children: | 2 |
James Yaegashi (born December 10, 1972) is a Japanese American actor based in New York.
James Yaegashi was born in Yokohama and raised in Yamagata to an American mother and a Japanese father. Upon graduating high school, he moved to America and majored in acting and directing at University of Missouri–Kansas City. He moved to New York with his wife in 1998.[1]
He has acted in various stage productions, including as Mr. Yunioshi in a stage production of Breakfast at Tiffany's; a role that had historically been played in yellowface. Of the character Yaegashi said "He’s a real character, for starters. The film...made so many changes to the story...Yunioshi is a Nisei, a Japanese American from California. In the movie, Mickey Rooney played him as if he was fresh off the boat." He ultimately felt it was necessary to play the character to portray ethnic characters in a positive light.[2] Yaegashi first entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a minor role in Daredevil, but had a more notable role when he was cast as Robert Minoru in the Hulu original series Runaways based on the Marvel Comics series.[3] In 2004, he voiced the Chinese Triad leader, Wu Zi Mu, in the video game, . He later also voiced an undercover police officer called Charlie in GTA IV and GTA IV: The Lost and Damned.
James Yaegashi is married with two children.[4] He is also bilingual.
| + Film roles | Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Thomas Crown Affair | Crown Acquisitions Executive | ||
| 1999 | Spin the Bottle | Cole | ||
| 2000 | Lisa Picard Is Famous | Alex | ||
| 2001 | Thirteen Conversations About One Thing | Legal Assistant | ||
| 2007 | Superheroes | James | ||
| 2007 | Noise | Japanese Businessman | ||
| 2008 | The Collective | The Janitor | ||
| 2011 | Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty | Director | ||
| 2012 | Man on a Ledge | Police Technician | ||
| 2024 | Civil War | Commercial Corporal |
| + Television roles | Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Cashmere Mafia | Frederic | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2016 | Madam Secretary | Rick | Episode: "Unity Node" | |
| 2016 | Marvel's Daredevil | Leader | Episode: "Regrets Only" | |
| 2017–2019 | Marvel's Runaways | Robert Minoru | Main cast | |
| 2019 | New Amsterdam | Ethan Kimura | Episode: "The Karman Line" | |
| 2021 | The Blacklist | Alexander Frayne | 2 episodes | |
| 2023 | Mech Cadets | Captain Skip Tanaka (voice) | 10 episodes | |
| 2024 | Fallout | Leon Von Felden | Episode: "The Beginning" | |
| 2024 | ATF Special Agent Marcus Cole | 2 episodes |
| + Theater roles | Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Take Me Out | Takeshi Kawabata | Broadway | |
| 2005 | A Naked Girl on the Appian Way | Bill Lapin | Broadway | |
| 2013 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | I. Y. Yunioshi | Broadway | |
| 2014 | The Oldest Boy | Father | Off-Broadway |
| + Video game roles | Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Woozie | ||
| 2005 | Tomoya (Tokyo) | ||
| 2007 | BioShock | Dr. Yi Suchong | |
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | Charlie / The Crowd of Liberty City | |
| 2014 | Yi Suchong / Bartender |