Mortal Kombat Star Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Dies at 75

Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who is thought for his roles in Mortal Kombat and Memoirs of a Geisha, has handed away at 75.

Deadline confirmed that the actor died from problems following a stroke on Thursday (December 4, 2025). He was surrounded by his household when he handed.

To common audiences, Tagawa was most well known as Shang Tsung, the darkish sorcerer he portrayed throughout quite a few Mortal Kombat tasks in movie, tv, and video video games. He first took on the function in New Line’s 1995 film and returned two years later for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

The actor later revisited the character with appearances within the 2013 sequence Mortal Kombat: Legacy and a 2015 episode of Mortal Kombat X: Generations. He went on to voice Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 11 (2019) and contributed his likeness to the role-playing recreation Mortal Kombat: Onslaught in 2023.

The primary Mortal Kombat film grew to become a significant hit, incomes over $100 million on a $20 million funds. Following the movie’s success, Tagawa defined how timing labored within the undertaking’s favor. He famous that, on the time, the video video games have been already well-established and gaining extra traction, which seemingly helped the movie thrive.

It was the proper timing in that Mortal Kombat as a online game, on the time we did the movie, was on quantity 4 or 5 and that the influence of the movie actually needed to do with the construct of the video video games.

The actor additionally praised the director, Paul W.S. Anderson, for his affect on the movie’s visible model and music. In keeping with Tagawa, the soundtrack completely matched the motion on display screen.

He was the primary one in martial arts historical past to use such music — actually upbeat, driving steel music. You couldn’t sit nonetheless whenever you heard the music. And it matched the motion so properly.

Tagawa additionally appeared in one other online game adaptation, taking over the villainous function of Heihachi Mishima in Tekken. Sadly, in contrast to Mortal Kombat, that 1991 launch failed to realize sturdy field workplace outcomes, particularly compared to the long-lasting gaming franchise.

Tagawa’s breakthrough function was in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 Academy Award-winning epic The Final Emperor. He portrayed Chang, the emperor’s chauffeur. Whereas his character was comparatively minor, he nonetheless performed an essential function within the movie.