Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the Japanese-American actor celebrated for portraying Shang Tsung in the 1995 Mortal Kombat film, has died at the age of 75. He passed away on Thursday in Santa Barbara, California, following complications from a stroke. His publicist, Penny Vizcarra, confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly.

Tagawa’s journey to the screen was shaped by a childhood spent moving across the United States. Born in Tokyo on September 27, 1950, to actress Mariko Hata, he grew up in North Carolina, Louisiana and Texas before settling in Southern California. It was during his time at Duarte High School that he developed an interest in acting, a calling influenced by the challenges and identity he navigated as a Japanese American in the post-war South.

Before his Hollywood break, Tagawa a

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