I am very sorry to share that Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa passed away on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at the age of 75.

His family confirmed that he died in Santa Barbara, California, due to complications from a stroke.
He is widely remembered for his iconic role as Shang Tsung in the 1995 Mortal Kombat film.

Besides Mortal Kombat 11, his work as Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat franchise included:

Mortal Kombat: Onslaught **(2023): He lent his voice and likeness to the character in this mobile RPG.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy **(2013): He reprised the role in this web series.
Other roles he played were:

The Last Emperor (1987) as Chang
Licence to Kill (1989) as Kwang (a James Bond film)
Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) as Funekei Yoshida
Rising Sun (1993) as Eddie Sakamura
The Phantom (1996) as The Great Kabai Sengh
Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) as Zenhichi Miyamoto
Pearl Harbor (2001) as Commander Minoru Genda
Planet of the Apes (2001) as Krull
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) as The Baron
Tekken (2009) as Heihachi Mishima
47 Ronin (2013) as Shogun Tsunayoshi



I had found out this yesterday, and he will surely be missed. Rest in peace.


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