Share
5th December 2025
07:52am GMT
James Bond and Mortal Kombat star Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa has died aged 75.
The well-known actor appeared in numerous TV shows and films from the likes of The Man in the High Castle to James Bond Licence to Kill.
The actor played the role of Kwang in the 1989 James Bond film.
Tagawa's family confirmed to Deadline the news of the actors death on Thursday 4 December.
He died in Santa Barbara in California after complications from a stroke, it has been reported.
Tagawa was born in Tokyo in 1950 and spent time growing up in the USA due to his father's work in the American army.
Tagawa also starred in The Last Emperor, Memoirs of a Geisha, Planet of the Apes and Tekken.
The actor employed his martial arts skills in many of his films.
In a 2010 interview with Deadline, he said: “I was born in Tokyo and began training in Kendo when I was in junior high school.
“Then when I was five we moved to Fort Bragg, NC; and that’s when I got my first real lesson in how to use the martial arts. Being Japanese and living in the south during the 50s was pretty tough.”
Tagawa was also a Russian citizen and shot a Russian film called The Priest-san.
He gained citizenship in 2016 after converting to Eastern Orthodoxy.
He spent his final days living on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, and is survived by his wife Sally and three children.
