‘Mortal Kombat’ Star Dies at 75 – Cause of Death Revealed

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the actor known for his roles in The Last Emperor and the Mortal Kombat films, has died at the age of 75. Tagawa passed away on Thursday in Santa Barbara, California, from complications following a stroke, his publicist Penny Vizcarra and manager Margie Weiner confirmed.

He was surrounded by his family at the time of his death.

Born in Japan, Tagawa built a career that spanned more than 30 years and included dozens of film and television appearances. He first gained major attention with a role in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor in 1987.

Reflecting on the experience in a 2015 interview with the A.V. Club, Tagawa said, “It was mind boggling. You know, to suddenly be working with one of the top-10 directors in the world.”

Following that breakthrough, he appeared in several high-profile projects. He had a role in the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989) and played Eddie Sakamura in the 1993 adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel Rising Sun, starring alongside Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes.

Tagawa later became widely known for playing the villainous sorcerer Shang Tsung in the 1995 Mortal Kombat film. The role became iconic and he reprised it in later films, television adaptations, and video games connected to the franchise.

He also appeared in other major films, including Pearl Harbor (2001) and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). In 2015, Tagawa took on a major television role in Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle, a series based on Philip K. Dick’s novel.

He played Nobusuke Tagomi, a Japanese trade minister navigating a world where the Axis powers won World War II. Tagawa once said of the character, “The character had parallels to my own experience as an Asian American growing up in the United States after the war.”

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa leaves behind a legacy of diverse and memorable roles across film, television, and video games. His work has influenced generations of actors and fans alike.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!