Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, star of Mortal Kombat, Last Emperor and Man In The High Castle dead at 75
Topics: Hollywood, Mortal Kombat, Celebrity, Health
Phoebe Tonks
Featured Image Credit: Bobby Bank / Getty Images
Topics: Hollywood, Mortal Kombat, Celebrity, Health
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the martial arts legend renowned for his Hollywood career has died at the age of 75, his family have confirmed.
Best known for his roles in the Mortal Kombat franchise and films such as The Last Emperor and Memoirs of a Geisha, Tagawa starred in over 150 different roles during his extensive career.
His last major role took place in 2015, when he starred in Amazon Prime’s The Man In High Castle, where he played Nobusuke Tagomi, the Trade Minister of the Pacific States of America.
He died surrounded by his children in Santa Barabra on Thursday, following complications from a stroke.
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Among his most iconic roles, is that of evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in the film, TV and video game iterations of the Mortal Kombat franchise.
He first stepped into the shoes of the memorable character back in 1995 when New Line Cinema produced the first Hollywood film for the series. He later reprised his role in the sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation.
A number of further reprisals also followed including in the 2013 TV series Mortal Kombat:Legacy and in the 2019 video game Mortal Kombat 11.
He also leant his likeness to the 2023 game Mortal Kombat: Onslaught.
Yet aside from his Mortal Kombat roles, Tagawa’s breakout film was Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar Best Picture-winning The Last Emperor in 1987.
Although his role as Chang, the emperor’s driver, was small, he played a pivotal role in progressing the plot.
That standout role also paved the way to a string of further successes, including in films such as License to Kill, Rising Sun, Snow Falling on Cedars, Pearl Harbor, Planet of the Apes, Elektra, Memoirs of a Geisha and 47 Ronin.
Many of these roles incorporating Tagawa’s extensive martial arts skills, with the actor trained in both kendo and karate.
He began training in kendo when he was still in junior high, but later added karate to his repertoire at the age of 21, while attending college at the University of Southern California.
After graduation, he travelled back to Japan to study under Master Nakayama with the Japan Karate Association and even developed his own system of Chun-Shin.
He is survived by three children, Calen, Brynne and Cana; and his two grandchildren, River and Thea Clayton.