'Mortal Kombat' star Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa dies at 75

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the actor for whom starring in the Mortal Kombat franchise became a “game-changer”, has passed away at the age of 75.

Born on September, 27, 1950 in Tokyo, Japan, Tagawa breathed his last on Thursday, December 4, in Santa Barbara.

The Man in the High Castle star died due to complications from a stroke, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Beginning with Paul W.S. Anderson’s original 1995 film, the late actor starred in various Mortal Kombat projects.

He portrayed Shang Tsung, a villain from the franchise, across Mortal Kombat‘s film, television and video game slate.

Tagawa appeared in the first 1995 Mortal Kombat movie followed by appearances in the 1997 sequel Annihilation via archival footage.

Additionally he portrayed the villainous character in the 2013 series Mortal Kombat: Legacy; one 2015 episode of Mortal Kombat X: Generations; and the video game Mortal Kombat 11, including its followups Aftermath (2020) and Ultimate (2020).

The Amazon’s television series actor secured his first film role in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor.

Reflecting on the “amazing experience” of working with Bertolucci so early into his career in a 2015 interview with AV Club, Tagawa raved, “It was mind boggling.”

“It was just like a dream come true,” he recalled. Later the Japanese-American actor went on to star in a slew of notable films, including License to Kill (1989); Planet of the Apes (2001); Memoirs of a Geisha (2005); and Tekken (2010).

Tagawa is survived by his wife, Sally; his three children, Calen, Byrnne and Cana; and two grandchildren, River and Thea Clayton.