Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Infobox actor


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birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1950|9|27
birthplace = Tokyo, Japan
deathdate =
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othername = Cary Tagawa
homepage =
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occupation = actor, producer, martial artist
yearsactive = 1986 - present

nihongo|Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa|田川 洋行|Tagawa Hiroyuki|born 27 September, 1950 is a Japanese American actor.

In addition to his extensive film work, he has appeared on television in ' - "Encounter at Farpoint" (1987), "Thunder in Paradise" (1995), "Nash Bridges" (1996), ' (2003), and "Heroes" (2007). He also provided the voice of Sin Tzu for the video game "". He played the part of Earth Alliance security officer Morishi in "Babylon 5" - "Convictions (Babylon 5)".

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). [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/16/Cary-Hiroyuki-Tagawa.html Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Biography (1950-) ] ] [ [http://starbulletin.com/2001/05/25/features/story1.html Honolulu Star-Bulletin Features ] ] [ [http://starbulletin.com/2003/09/11/sports/story1.html Honolulu Star-Bulletin Sports ] ] He was raised in various cities. He began acting in 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.

Filmography

*"The Last Emperor" (1987)
*"Twins" (1988)
*"Bulletproof" (1988)
*"Licence to Kill" (1989)
*"Showdown in Little Tokyo" (1991)
*"" (1991)
*"The Perfect Weapon" (1991)
*"American Me" (1992)
*"Nemesis" (1993)
*"Rising Sun" (1993)
*"Picture Bride" (1994)
*"Mortal Kombat" (1995)
*"The Phantom" (1996)
*"Top of the World" (1997)
*"" (1997, uncredited flashback cameo)
*"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)
*"Hawaii" (television series, 2004)
*"Faith of My Fathers" (2005)
*"Elektra" (2005)
*"Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005)
*"The Slanted Screen" (documentary, 2006)
*"" (2006)
*"" (2007)
*"Balls of Fury" (2007)
*"Ghost Voyage" (2008)
*"Slaughter" (2009)
*"Tekken" (2009)

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=p.254-261|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|isbn=978-0-7864-2994-3

References

External links

* [http://www.carytagawaonline.com Cary Tagawa Online]
* [http://www.myspace.com/carytagawa Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa] at MySpace
* [http://www.ninjahsportz.com/ Ninjah Sportz]
*imdb name|id=0846480|name=Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa