From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat.
Born	September 27, 1950 (1950-09-27) (age 59) Tokyo, Japan
Other name(s)	Cary Tagawa
Occupation	actor, producer, martial artist
Years active	1986 - present

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (田川 洋行, Tagawa Hiroyuki^?, born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese American^[1][2] actor.

In addition to his extensive film work, he has appeared on television in Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Encounter at Farpoint" (1987), Thunder in Paradise (1995), Nash Bridges (1996), Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003), and Heroes (2007). He also provided the voice of Sin Tzu for the video game Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu. He played the part of Earth Alliance security officer Morishi in Babylon 5 - "Convictions". He played a soul-stealing sorcerer Shang Tsung in a film adaptation of the video game Mortal Kombat.

Biography

Early life

He was born in Tokyo, Japan, the son of an actress from Tokyo and a Japanese-American father who served in the United States Army (stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Polk, Louisiana and Fort Hood, Texas).^[3][4][5] He was raised in various cities. He began acting in high school while attending Duarte High School in Southern California. He attended the University of Southern California, and was an exchange student in Japan.

Career

His breakthrough as an actor came when he was cast as the Eunuch Chang in The Last Emperor (1987). In 1989 he posed as an undercover agent of the Hong Kong Narcotics Board in the James Bond film License 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 and Jeff Speakman in the same year in the film The Perfect Weapon, where he played Kai, an assistant to the Korean mafia families.

Many remember him from the movie Mortal Kombat (1995) as the shape-shifting sorcerer Shang Tsung, and as the deadly pirate leader Kabai Singh 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.

Most recently, Tagawa was selected for the role of Heihachi Mishima in Tekken, the film adaptation of the popular video game franchise. He was also featured as the voice of Brushogun in Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo.

Filmography

• The Last Emperor (1987)
• Twins (1988)
• Bulletproof (1988)
• Licence to Kill (1989)
• Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)
• Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991)
• The Perfect Weapon (1991)
• American Me (1992)
• Nemesis (1993)
• Rising Sun (1993)
• Space Rangers (1993)
• Picture Bride (1994)
• Mortal Kombat (1995)
• The Phantom (1996)
• Sabrina The Teenage Witch (television series, 1996)
• Top of the World (1997)
• Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997, uncredited flashback cameo)
• Stargate SG1 : episode emancipation (1997)
• Danger Zone (1997)
• Vampires (1998)
• Bridge of Dragons (1999)
• Johnny Tsunami (1999)
• Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
• The Art of War (2000)
• Pearl Harbor (2001)
• Planet of the Apes (2001)
• Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003)
• Hawaii (television series, 2004)
• Faith of My Fathers (2005)
• Elektra (2005)
• Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
• The Slanted Screen (documentary, 2006)
• Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2006)
• Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board (2007)
• Balls of Fury (2007)
• Ghost Voyage (2008)
• Slaughter (2009)
• Tekken (2009)
• Hachiko: A Dog's Story (2010)
• Miami Vice: (1987/1989)

Bibliography

• Paul, Louis (2008). "Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa". Tales From the Cult Film Trenches; Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 254–261. ISBN 978-0-7864-2994-3. 

References

External links

• Cary Tagawa Online
• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa at MySpace
• Ninjah Sportz
• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa at the Internet Movie Database

• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)