SANTA BARBARA, California. — Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, an actor originally from Tokyo, known for his roles in the film “Mortal Kombat” and the TV series. “The Man in the High Castle” died. He was 75.
Tagawa died surrounded by his family in Santa Barbara from complications from a stroke, his manager Margie Weiner confirmed Thursday.
“Cary was a rare soul: generous, thoughtful and endlessly dedicated to his craft,” she wrote in an email. “His loss is immeasurable. My heart goes out to his family, friends and everyone who loved him.”
Tagawa's decades of film and television roles really began in 1987 when he appeared in Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor. Since then, he has appeared in films such as Pearl Harbor, Planet of the Apes and License to Kill.
Tagawa grew up primarily in the southern United States, while his Hawaii-born father was stationed at Continental Army bases. For some time he lived in Honolulu and on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Tagawa's father met his mother while in Japan. Tagaan Taga Airport Journal in 2004. His parents named him after Cary Grant and his brother after Gregory Peck, he said.
His mother, Ayako, was a stage actress in Japan. Weekly newspaper of Honolulu Midweek. Tagawa said she asked him not to pursue acting because there weren't many good roles for Asians.
He eventually began an acting career at age 36 after working as a celery farmer, limousine driver, pizza truck driver and photojournalist, he said.
“The good news for Asian actors and Hollywood is that the situation is better than ever, but the bad news is that it hasn't changed that much,” he told Midweek in 2005. “The opportunities haven’t increased as much, but from a commercial point of view there has been more focus.”
Tagawa played the baron in Memoirs of a Geisha, the 2005 film based on the best-selling book that follows a young girl's rise from poverty in a Japanese fishing village to life in high society.
Some critics said the film lacked authenticity, but Tagawa said it was unrealistic to expect a feature written and directed by Americans to fully reflect Japanese style and sensibility.
“What did they expect? It wasn't a documentary,” Tagawa told The Associated Press in 2006. “If the film is not made by the Japanese, then it is just an interpretation.”
Tagawa told the AP that he studied various martial arts but quit because he wasn't interested in fighting or competing.
Instead, he developed a system he called Ninjah Sportz, which incorporated martial arts as a training and healing tool. He has worked with professional athletes such as World Boxing Council featherweight champion Brian Viloria and advised members of the University of Hawaii football team.
In 2008, Tagawa pleaded guilty in a Honolulu court to a misdemeanor charge of stalking a girlfriend. She had bruises on her legs, police said at the time.
His lawyer said he took full responsibility for the case from the very beginning and made no excuses.
