Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (; 27 September 1950 – 4 December 2025) was a Japanese actor and film producer who was best known for his role as the evil shapeshifter 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 Mortal Kombat: Legacy and in 2019 for the video game Mortal Kombat 11. He appeared as Lt. A.J. Shimamura on 15 episodes of the American television series Nash Bridges.
Often cast as villains, he became 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), Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge (2014), and Kubo and the Two Strings (2016). 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).
Life and career Early years and education 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 languages were English and Japanese, but he also spoke some Russian, Korean and Spanish.Profile , Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 25 May 2011; accessed 30 March 2016.Profile , Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 11 September 2003; accessed 30 March 2016.
As an army brat, Tagawa was raised in various cities. His family finally settled in Southern California, where he began acting 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.
Acting career 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. He appeared in the film Mortal Kombat (1995) as the sorcerer Shang Tsung; he reprised the role in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy in 2013, and in the video game Mortal Kombat 11 in 2019. He also appeared as the 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 Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. He was in the film Johnny Tsunami (1999) and its sequel Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board (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.
Tagawa also played the role of Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in the 2013 film 47 Ronin.
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.
Personal life and death In 2015, Tagawa converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, and in 2016, he acquired Russian citizenship after playing an Orthodox priest in the Russian-Japanese film, Priest-San (or The Samurai Confessions).
On 4 December 2025, Tagawa died at age 75 from complications of a stroke at his home in Santa Barbara, California.
Filmography Film 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 Man1989 The Last Warrior Imperial Marine Licence to Kill Kwang 1991 Kickboxer 2 Sanga Showdown in Little Tokyo Funekei Yoshida The Perfect Weapon Kai1992 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 Provocateur Captain Jong Mortal Kombat Annihilation Shang Tsung Archive footage 1998 Vampires David Deyo American Dragons Matsuyama1999 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 Documentary2007 Balls of Fury Mysterious Asian Man Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter Alibek 2008 Lost Warrior: Left Behind Detective Yoshide Direct-to-video Bodyguard: A New Beginning Kai 2009 By the Will of Chingis Khan Bodyguard Hachi: A Dog's Tale Ken Tekken Heihachi MishimaThe Tomb Len Burris 2012 Black Cobra Goro Tanaka Direct-to-video2013 Duel of Legends Shing Also producer 47 Ronin Tokugawa Tsunayoshi 2014 Hype Nation 3D Sammy Kata Priest-San Father Nikolai 'Takuro' Nakamura Ninja Apocalypse Fumitaka Direct-to-video Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge Heihachi Mishima Skin Trade Senator Khat2015 Junction Narrator Voice Diamond Cartel Khazar The Man with the Iron Fists 2 The Mayor Direct-to-video Little Boy Hashimoto 2016 Showdown in Manila Aldric Cole Beyond the Game Detective Yoshida Kubo and the Two Strings Hashi Voice2019 Looking in the Mirror Henry Girl Games Iwata 2020 Sky Sharks Michael Morel
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 Year Title RoleNotes 1987 MacGyver Asian Buyer Episode: "Dalton, Jack of Spies" The Colbys Mr. Sung Episode: "Devil's Advocate" Star Trek: The Next Generation 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: "Perfect" 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 15 episodes 1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child King Young-Jin Voice; episode: "The Little Mermaid" Raven: Return of the Black Dragon Osato Television film Stargate SG-1 Turghan Episode: "Emancipation" 1998 Poltergeist: The Legacy 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 Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding Mason Sato Television film 2004 Hawaii Captain Terry Harada 2005 Faith of My Fathers Cat Television film 2006 Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo Brushogun Voice; television film A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 2007 Heroes The Swordsmith 2 episodes Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board Johnny TsunamiTelevision film 2008 Ghost Voyage The Steward 2009 Beyond the Break Xander 2 episodes 2010 Hawaii Five-0 Hiro Noshimori 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 2018 Lost in Space Hiroki Watanabe 5 episodes 2019 A Lover Scorned Wong Television film 2020 DuckTales Akita Voice; episode: "Astro B.O.Y.D.!"2021 Star Wars: Visions Valco Voice; episode: "The Village Bride"English language dub NCIS: Los Angeles Craig Tanaka Episode: "Fukushu" 2023 Blue Eye Samurai Master Eiji Voice
Web Year Title RoleNotes 2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Shang Tsung 2 episodes
Video games Year Title RoleNotes 1997 Soldier Boyz Vinh Moc 2003 Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Sin Tzu 2016 World of Warcraft: Legion Voice over cast 2019–2020 Mortal Kombat 11Shang Tsung Voice and physical likeness; appears as downloadable content 2023 Mortal Kombat: Onslaught Physical likeness
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