The actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, best known for his role as Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat franchise, has passed away aged 75 due to complications from a stroke (as confirmed yesterday by the Hollywood Reporter).
Originally born in Tokyo, Tagawa would live in various places across the US during his childhood, thanks to his father's military background, before settling in Los Angeles, where he began teaching and created his own form of martial arts called Chuushindo.
While in his 30s, he would eventually land his very first role, starring as the character Chang in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1987 biographical epic, The Last Emperor, before later landing roles in other Hollywood projects such as License to Kill (1989), The Phantom (1996), Pearl Harbor (2001), and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), and most recently, the TV series The Man in the High Castle, where he played Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi.
Arguably, though, it would be his performance as the sorcerer Shang Tsung in the 1995 movie adaptation of Mortal Kombat and other Mortal Kombat projects (such as the video games Mortal Kombat 11 and Mortal Kombat: Onslaught, and the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy) that ultimately came to define his career, with many still viewing Tagawa as the definitive version of the character.
Paying tribute to the actor, the Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon, wrote on Twitter/X: "Cary was one of a kind. He combined danger, swagger, and athleticism to his roles and will always be remembered as the man who first brought Shang Tsung to life on film."
Elsewhere, in the fighting game community, Tekken fans may also recognize him as the man who played Heihachi Mishima in the 2009 film adaptation of the Namco fighting game, and its direct-to-video sequel, Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge.
Here at Time Extension, our thoughts are with Tagawa's family and friends during this time.