Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
{{Short description|Japanese-American actor (born 1950)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
| image = Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Tagawa in 2011
| native_name = {{nobold|田川 洋行}}
| native_name_lang = ja
| birth_date = {{nowrap|{{birth date and age|1950|9|27}}}}
| birth_place = Higashi-Azabu, Tokyo, Japan
| death_date =
| death_place =
| years_active = 1985–present
| citizenship = United States
Russia (since 2016)
| other_names = Cary Tagawa
Panteleymon Tagawa
| education = University of Southern California
| occupation = Actor, producer
| spouse = {{marriage|Sally Phillips|1984}}
| children = 3
}}
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa ({{langx|ja|田川 洋行|Tagawa Hiroyuki}}; born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese-American actor and 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), Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge (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 Mortal Kombat: Legacy and in 2019 for the video game Mortal Kombat 11.
Early life
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.[http://starbulletin.com/2001/05/25/features/story1.html Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822220818/http://starbulletin.com/2001/05/25/features/story1.html |date=2006-08-22 }}, starbulletin.com, May 25, 2011; accessed March 30, 2016.[http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/11/sports/story1.html Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041212233830/http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/11/sports/story1.html |date=2004-12-12 }}, starbulletin.com, September 11, 2003; accessed March 30, 2016.
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.{{Cite web|last=Wilson|first=Terry|date=2010-10-02|title=The Invisible Strength of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa|url=https://www.martialartsentertainment.com/the-invisible-strength-of-cary-tagawa/|access-date=2021-12-26|website=Martial Arts & Action Entertainment|language=en-US}}
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, 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 Mortal Kombat: Legacy in 2013,{{cite web |url=http://latino-review.com/2012/12/03/web-series-mortal-kombat-legacy-2-hitting-february-17th |title=Web Series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2′ Hitting February 17th |website=Latino Review |access-date=2012-12-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206050841/http://latino-review.com/2012/12/03/web-series-mortal-kombat-legacy-2-hitting-february-17th/ |archive-date=2012-12-06 }} 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 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.Keck, William (August 15, 2012). "Keck's Exclusives: Revenge Recasts a Role" (TV Guide); retrieved August 16, 2012.
Tagawa also plays the role of Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in the 2013 film47 Ronin.{{Cite web|url=https://www.controcampus.it/2019/06/47-ronin-trama-recensione-cast-e-trailer-del-film-con-keanu-reeves/|title=47 Ronin: trama, recensione, cast e trailer del film con Keanu Reeves|date=2019-06-14|website=Controcampus|language=it|access-date=2019-08-19}}
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.{{Cite web|title=2015 Urban Action Showcase International Action Film Festival & Honoree Awards|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHVK0HEfxXc&feature |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/oHVK0HEfxXc |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=YouTube|access-date=2015-12-14}}{{cbignore}}
In 2013, Tagawa started working with Russian film actors Pyotr Mamonov and Ivan Okhlobystin.[http://rbth.asia/culture/2013/08/09/cary-hiroyuki_tagawa_this_is_just_the_beginning_of_my_russian_career_48437.html "This is just the beginning of my Russian career"]{{Dead link|date=June 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, rbth.asia; accessed March 30, 2016.
Personal life
In 2015, Tagawa converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, and in 2016, he acquired Russian citizenship.[https://www.rbth.com/arts/2017/08/24/seeking-new-citizenship-10-foreign-celebrities-that-now-call-russia-home_827794 Seeking new citizenship: 10 foreign celebrities that now call Russia home]
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| Wing Kong Swordsman | Uncredited |
| Armed Response
| Toshi | |
| 1987
| Chang | |
| rowspan="3" | 1988
| Thug In Flashback | Uncredited |
| Spellbinder
| Lieutenant Lee | |
| Twins
| Oriental Man | |
| rowspan="2" |1989
| The Last Warrior | Imperial Marine | |
| Licence to Kill
| Kwang | |
| rowspan="3" | 1991
| Sanga | |
| Showdown in Little Tokyo
| Funekei Yoshida | |
| The Perfect Weapon
| Kai | |
| rowspan="2" |1992
| Nemesis | Angie-Liv | |
| American Me
| 'El Japo' | |
| 1993
| Eddie Sakamura | |
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| Natural Causes | Major Somchal | |
| Picture Bride
| Kanzuki | |
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| The Dangerous | Kon | |
| Mortal Kombat
| |
| Soldier Boyz
| Vinh Moc | |
| rowspan="3" | 1996
| Victor Chow | |
| The Phantom
| The Great Kabai Sengh | |
| Danger Zone
| Monsieur Chang | |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Captain Hefter | |
| Mortal Kombat Annihilation
| Shang Tsung | Archive footage |
| rowspan="3" | 1998
| Vampires | David Deyo | |
| Provocateur
| Captain Jong | |
| American Dragons
| Matsuyama | |
| rowspan="3" |1999
| General Ruechang | |
| Fixations
| Alex | |
| Snow Falling on Cedars
| Zenhichi Miyamoto | |
| 2000
| David Chan | |
| rowspan="2" | 2001
| Commander Minoru Genda | |
| Planet of the Apes
| Krull | |
| rowspan="2" | 2005
| Elektra | Master Roshi | |
| Memoirs of a Geisha
| The Baron | |
| rowspan="2" | 2006
| Himself | Documentary film |
| Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo
| Brushogun (voice) | |
| rowspan="2" |2007
| Mysterious Asian Man | |
| Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter
| Alibek | |
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Lost Warrior: Left Behind | Detective Yoshide | Direct-to-video |
| Bodyguard: A New Beginning
| Kai | |
| rowspan="4" | 2009
| By the Will of Chingis Khan | Bodyguard | |
| Hachi: A Dog's Tale
| Ken | |
| Tekken
| |
| The Tomb
| Len Burris | |
| 2012
| Black Cobra | Goro Tanaka | Direct-to-video |
| rowspan="2" |2013
|Duel of Legends |Shing |Also producer |
| 47 Ronin
| |
| rowspan="5" | 2014
| Hype Nation 3D | Sammy Kata | |
| Priest-San
| Father Nikolai 'Takuro' Nakamura | |
| Ninja Apocalypse
| Fumitaka | |
| Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge
| Heihachi Mishima | |
| Skin Trade
| Senator Khat | |
| rowspan="3" |2015
| Junction | Narrator (voice) | |
| The Man with the Iron Fists 2
| The Mayor | |
| Little Boy
| Hashimoto | |
| rowspan="3" | 2016
| Aldric Cole | |
| Beyond the Game
| Detective Yoshida | |
| Kubo and the Two Strings
| Hashi (voice) | |
| 2017
| Khazar | |
| rowspan="2" |2019
|Looking in the Mirror |Henry | |
| Girl Games
|Iwata | |
| 2020
|Sky Sharks |Michael Morel | |
== Short films ==
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" | 2005
| True Love & Mimosa Tea | Andreas Kanaka | |
| The Sand Island Drive-In Anthem
| Uncle C | |
| 2009
| The Legend of Chang Apana | Also producer |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| Absolute.ness | Chief Dax | |
| Overturned
| Judge | |
| 2015
|Genghis Khan Conquers the Moon | |
| 2016
| Narrator / Sojiro Shimada |Voice |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="3" | 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
| Kenji Fujitsu, Tegoro | 2 episodes |
| 1988
| Hotel | Inspector Chin | Episode: "Double Take" |
| rowspan="7" | 1989
| 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" |
| rowspan="4" | 1990
| Raymond Char | Episode: "Chinatown, My Chinatown" |
| Hardball
| | Episode: "Wedding Bell Blues" |
| The Bakery
| Kim Lee | rowspan="2" | Television film |
| Vestige of Honor
| Thai Major |
| rowspan="3" | 1991
| Baywatch | Mason Sato | Episode: "War of Nerves" |
| Not of This World
| Shikido | rowspan="2" | 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
| Zylyn | 6 episodes |
| 1994
| Day of Reckoning | Prakit | Television film |
| rowspan="2" | 1995
| Morishi | Episode: "Convictions" |
| Thunder in Paradise 3
| Mason Lee | Television film |
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| Cybill | Kenji | Episode: "Cybill and Maryann Go to Japan" |
| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
| Tai Wei Tse | Episode: "Sweet & Sour Victory" |
| 1996–1997
| Lieutenant A.J. Shimamura | 12 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 1997
| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | King Young-Jin | Episode: "The Little Mermaid" |
| Raven: Return of the Black Dragon
| Osato | Television film |
| Stargate SG-1
| Turghan | Episode: "Emancipation" |
| rowspan="2" | 1998
| Sam Tanaka | Episode: "The Internment" |
| Vengeance Unlimited
| Aung Myint | Episode: "Ambition" |
| rowspan="3" | 1999
| Peter | Episode: "Walter" |
| Johnny Tsunami
| Johnny Tsunami | rowspan="2" | Television film |
| NetForce
| Leong Cheng |
| 2000
| Master Ko | Episode: "Black Dragons" |
| 2003
| Mason Sato | Television film |
| 2004
| Hawaii | Captain Terry Harada | |
| 2005
| Cat | Television film |
| rowspan="2" | 2007
| Heroes | The Swordsmith | 2 episodes |
| Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board
| Johnny Tsunami | rowspan="2" |Television film |
| 2008
| The Steward |
| 2009
| Xander | rowspan="2" | 2 episodes |
| 2010
| Hiro Noshimori |
| 2012–2013
| Revenge | Satoshi Takeda | 6 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| Katashi / Silverfinger | Episode: "Silverfinger" |
| The Librarians
| Mr. Drake | Episode: "And the Apple of Discord" |
| 2015–2018
| Nobusuke Tagomi | Main cast |
| rowspan="2" | 2016
| Grimm | Takeshi Himura | Episode: "Inugami" |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
| Sumo Kuma | rowspan="2" | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2017
| Alrich Wren |
| 2018
| Hiroki Watanabe | 5 episodes |
| 2019
|A Lover Scorned |Wong |Television film |
| 2020
| Akita | Voice, episode: "Astro B.O.Y.D.!" {{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11973540/|title = Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Akita|website=www.imdb.com}} |
| rowspan="2" |2021
|Valco |Voice, short film: The Village Bride: English language dub{{Cite web|date=2021-08-17|title=Stunning New Star Wars: Visions Trailer Debuts|url=https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-visions-trailer-and-cast|access-date=2021-08-17|website=StarWars.com|language=en-US}} |
| NCIS: Los Angeles
| Craig Tanaka | Episode: "Fukushu" |
| 2023
| Blue Eye Samurai{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/netflix-michael-green-animated-series-blue-eye-samurai-1234799073/|title=Netflix Sets Overall Deal With Michael Green, Orders Animated Series 'Blue Eye Samurai'|publisher=Variety|first=Joe|last=Otterson|date=2020-10-09|access-date=2020-10-12}} | Master Eiji | |
=Web=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2013
| Shang Tsung | 2 episodes |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1997
| Vinh Moc | |
| 2003
| Sin Tzu | |
| 2016
| Voice Over Cast | |
| 2019–2020
|Rowspan="2"|Shang Tsung | Voice and physical likeness; appears as downloadable content |
| 2023
|physical likeness |
Bibliography
- {{Cite book|last=Paul|first=Louis|year=2008|title=Tales From the Cult Film Trenches; Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema|chapter=Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa|pages=254–261|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|isbn=978-0-7864-2994-3}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0846480}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagawa, Cary-Hiroyuki}}
Category:American emigrants to Russia
Category:American male actors of Japanese descent
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male karateka
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male video game actors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy
Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Japan
Category:Japanese emigrants to the United States
Category:Japanese emigrants to Russia
Category:Japanese male film actors
Category:Japanese male karateka
Category:Japanese male television actors
Category:Japanese male video game actors
Category:Japanese male voice actors
Category:Male actors from Tokyo
Category:People from Minato, Tokyo
Category:Russian Orthodox Christians from the United States
Category:University of Southern California alumni
Category:People with multiple citizenship
Category:Naturalized citizens of Russia