Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who played Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat, has died (3 photos + 1 video)
Category: Stars, Famous people, PEGI 0+
Today, 19:05
Hollywood actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, famous for his role as the sorcerer Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat franchise, has died in the United States at the age of 75. He died on December 4 at home in Santa Barbara from complications following a stroke, according to Deadline and his family.
Of Japanese descent, Tagawa starred in over 150 films and television series during his 40-year career. His acting career was predetermined—or so Tagawa himself believed. The Japanese man's mother performed in an all-female musical revue called Takarazuka, so Tagawa once remarked in an interview with The Guardian that acting was in his blood.
Tagawa was 35 when he landed his first film role – a bit part in John Carpenter's 1986 comedy Big Trouble in Little China, starring Kurt Russell. Two years later, he achieved success playing a driver in Bertolucci's acclaimed historical drama The Last Emperor, about Puyi, the last monarch to rule China. The film won nine Oscars.
Tagawa landed his most famous role, Shang Tsung, in Mortal Kombat when he stood on a chair to read his lines during his audition. The creative team was amazed by his performance and immediately cast him, even making his character younger than he was in the script.
The film was a resounding box office success, and Tagawa will forever be remembered as Shang Tsung. He reprised the role in the 1997 sequel.
Besides Mortal Kombat (film, TV, games), he portrayed patriarch Heihachi Mishima in the Tekken film adaptations and voiced characters in video games.
Funekei Yoshida, "Showdown in Little Tokyo"
The actor also starred in "Pearl Harbor," "Planet of the Apes," "Memoirs of a Geisha," and "47 Ronin."
Tagawa left a lasting mark on the film industry, regularly appearing in major projects and remaining an icon for fans of the genre.
