← Back to explore

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Acting

Born September 27, 1950 · Tokyo, Japan

Died December 4, 2025

Also known as Tagawa Hiroyuki · ケイリー=ヒロユキ・タガワ · 田川洋行

Biography

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was a Japanese actor and film producer who was best known for his role as the evil shapeshifter sorcerer Shang Tsung in various works of the Mortal Kombat franchise: he first played the character in the 1995 film adaptation, and reprised it in 2013 for the television series Mortal Kombat: Legacy and in 2019 for the video game Mortal Kombat 11. He appeared as Lt. A.J. Shimamura on 15 episodes of the American television series Nash Bridges.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA

Awards & recognition

  • Behind the Voice Actors Awards · 2016

Filmography50+ titles

Blue Eye Samurai

2023as The Swordmaker (voice)

Teen Wolf

2011as Katashi

Star Trek: The Next Generation

1987as Mandarin Bailiff

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

2012as Sumo Kuma (voice)

Grimm

2011as Takeshi Imura

Stargate SG-1

1997as Turghan

Hachi: A Dog's Tale

2009as Ken

Babylon 5

1994as Morishi

DuckTales

2017as Akita (voice)

Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo

2006as Brushogun (voice)

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch

1996as Tai Wai Tse

Kubo and the Two Strings

2016as Hashi (voice)

Star Wars Rebels

2014as Alrich Wren (voice)

Hawaii Five-0

2010as Hiro Noshimuri

MacGyver

1985as Asian Buyer

Memoirs of a Geisha

2005as The Baron

The Last Emperor

1987as Chang

Lost in Space

2018as Hiroki Watanabe

The Man in the High Castle

2015as Nobusuke Tagomi

Revenge

2011as Satoshi Takeda

NCIS: Los Angeles

2009as Craig Tanaka

Moonlighting

1985as Artist

Heroes

2006as The Swordsmith

American Me

1992as El Japo

Miami Vice

1984as Tegoro

Little Boy

2015as Hashimoto

The Librarians

2014as Mr. Drake

Big Trouble in Little China

1986as Wing Kong Man - Extra (uncredited)

Mortal Kombat: Legacy

2011as Shang Tsung

Walker, Texas Ranger

1993as Master Ko

Insert Coin

2020as Shang Tsung

Pearl Harbor

2001as Genda

Knots Landing

1979as Mr. Toyo

Renegade

1992as Hirotaka

Nash Bridges

1996as A.J. Shimamura

Picture Bride

1995as Kanzaki

Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis

1991as Hashimoto

Showdown in Little Tokyo

1991as Yoshida

Licence to Kill

1989as Kwang

Superboy

1988

Vampires

1998as David Deyo

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

1995as King Young-Jin (voice)

The Perfect Weapon

1991as Kai

47 Ronin

2013as Shogun Tsunayoshi

Faith of My Fathers

2005as Cat

Rising Sun

1993as Eddie Sakamura

Skin Trade

2014as Senator Khat

Snow Falling on Cedars

1999as Zenhichi Miyamoto

Twins

1988as Oriental Man

Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board

2007as Grandpa Johnny Tsunami