In Hollywood, some actors are known as the kings and queens of stunts and here you will find Japanese-American Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. A talented exercise physiologist, martial artist, and stuntman known for his portrayal of a villain in the films Mortal Kombat, Pearl Harbor, and Tekken Let’s take a look at his biography, family life and other outstanding details about this multi-talented man.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s Bio
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was born on September 27, 1950 in Azabu, Tokyo, Japan to his father, a former US Army officer, and his mother, who was an actress. Because of his father’s job, which saw him stationed at various stations across the United States such as Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Fort Hood, Texas, Cary spent most of his childhood and adolescence traveling from city to city draw.
However, he finished his high school education at Duarte High School, where he is said to have developed an interest in martial arts, and eventually attended the University of Southern California and was part of the student exchange program to Japan.
After graduating from the University of Southern California, Cary took on various jobs while pursuing his acting career. He entered the entertainment industry in 1985 and two years later, in 1987, he got his big break in The Last Emperor where he was cast as Eunuch Chang. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa also had a role in the popular 1989 film License to Kill where he played the role of Kwang, a secret agent for the Hong Kong Narcotics Board. This was followed by his role in the film The Last Warrior as the Imperial Marine that same year.
Aside from films, Cary has also appeared in television sitcoms such as Miami Vice where he played two roles in 1987, as well as Kenji Fujitsu and Tegoro in 1989. He was also in the 1987 sitcoms MacGyver as an Asian buyer, The Colbys as Mr. Sung, and Star Trek: The Next Generation as a Mandarin bailiff. He only appeared in one television series in 1988 called Hotel As Inspector Chin but the next year he landed roles in series such as Superboy Knots Landing, Moonlighting, A Peaceful Kingdom, Alien Nation and the remarkable Mission Impossible
In the 1990s he also appeared in sitcoms such as Baywatch, Babylon 5, Vengeance Unlimited and Seven Days among others. Although Cary didn’t appear in many sitcoms in the early 2000s Walker, Texas Ranger and Hawaii, the Japanese-American actor subsequently landed roles in high-profile films such as Hawaii Five-0, Teen Wolf, The Man in the High Castle (in which he from 2015 to present), Grim, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (as the voice of Sumo Kuna), Star Wars Rebels, and Lost in Space (where he is currently cast as Hiroki Watanabe).