Star Actor Dead At 75 After Medical Emergency

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the Tokyo-born character actor who carved out a steady Hollywood career with roles in “Mortal Kombat” and “The Man in the High Castle,” has died at 75.

Tagawa passed away in Santa Barbara from complications of a stroke, his manager, Margie Weiner, confirmed Thursday. “He died surrounded by his family, with love,” she said.

His breakout came in 1987 with Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winning epic “The Last Emperor,” launching a run that put him in major studio films for decades. Tagawa turned up in “Pearl Harbor,” “Planet of the Apes” and the Bond film “License to Kill,” often cast as the cool, imposing presence directors loved to lean on.

Born in Tokyo, Tagawa grew up mostly in the American South, following his Hawaii-born father’s Army assignments across mainland bases. He later lived in Honolulu and on Kauai, keeping close ties to the islands.

He played the Baron in the 2005 hit “Memoirs of a Geisha,” adapted from the bestselling novel about a girl’s rise from poverty to high society. Some critics griped about authenticity, but Tagawa brushed off the hand-wringing. “What did they expect? It wasn’t a documentary,” he told the Associated Press in 2006. “Unless the Japanese did the movie, it’s all interpretation.”

Though trained in several martial arts, Tagawa said he drifted from traditional forms because he wasn’t interested in fighting. He instead created a system called Ninjah Sportz, a hybrid intended as a training and healing method. He worked with professional athletes, including World Boxing Council light flyweight champion Brian Viloria, and advised members of the University of Hawaii football program.

Tagawa also had a public stumble. In 2008, he pleaded guilty in a Honolulu court to a petty misdemeanor harassment charge involving a girlfriend who had bruises on her legs. His attorney said Tagawa accepted responsibility from the start and offered no excuses.

The actor leaves behind a long, varied career and a devoted fan base that followed him from martial arts fantasy to prestige TV.

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