Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Dies at 75, Known for 'Mortal Kombat'

The world has learned about the shocking death of an actor who has become an icon of the movie and video game worlds. While he often portrayed villains on the big and little screen, he was beloved by generations of fans who couldn't get enough of his compelling and charismatic performances.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Has Passed Away at 75 Years Old

After enjoying success as an actor in Hollywood for decades, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa unfortunately passed away in the morning on December 4, 2025. At the time of his passing, he was 75 years old, after having relatively recently celebrated his birthday. Tagawa was born on September 27, 1950, in Higashi-Azabu, Tokyo, Japan.

According to a Deadline report, the iconic actor passed away in Santa Barbara due to complications from suffering a stroke. The outlet confirmed the news with the actor's family, who revealed that Tagawa was surrounded by his children in his final moments.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Enjoyed an Incredible Career and Left Behind a Lasting Legacy

According to IMDb, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's earliest dated credit came as a part of the beloved 1986 movie Big Trouble in Little China. After landing a role in that memorable film, Tagawa went on to do something truly incredible. He worked relatively consistently in the highly competitive acting world for decades.

While Tagawa's list of credits is long, there is no doubt that he will be best remembered by millions of people for one role, Mortal Kombat's Shang Tsung. Tagawa originally played the villainous character in 1995's live-action Mortal Kombat movie. After headlining that hit movie, Tagawa reprised the role in two episodes of the 2013 web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

While Tagawa never embodied Shang Tsung onscreen again, the fact that he seemed to relish portraying the evil sorcerer left a lasting impression on the franchise's passionate fans. As such, Tagawa got one more opportunity to portray the character, much to the delight of fans. The actor voiced Shang Tsung again for the 2019 video game Mortal Kombat 11, which also recreated his likeness as the character. The video game Mortal Kombat: Onslaught also featured a version of the character that was designed to look like Tagawa, but he didn't provide his voice to that iteration.

Although there is no doubt that Mortal Kombat fans all over the world will be heartbroken to learn that the actor they loved so much has passed, it is important to note that his career went far beyond that one role. Tagawa was also a part of movies like The Last Emperor, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Man in the High Castle, Licence to Kill, Kickboxer 2, Showdown in Little Tokyo, The Phantom, The Art of War, and Pearl Harbor, among many others. It also shouldn't be forgotten that Tagawa had notable roles in shows like Nash Bridges, Heroes, the 2018 version of Lost in Space, and more.