Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the Japanese American actor whose powerful glare and graceful menace made him a fixture of action films for more than four decades, has died at 75.

Tagawa, known for his roles in the “Mortal Kombat” films, “License to Kill” and “The Man in the High Castle,” died Thursday of complications from a stroke, a representative confirmed to The Times. He died in Santa Barbara while surrounded by family members.

Tagawa was born in Japan and raised partly on U.S. military bases before coming to Los Angeles, where he taught his own style of martial arts called Chu Shin. He was discovered by Bernardo Bertolucci and cast in “The Last Emperor,” which was released in 1987.

His role in the Oscar-winning epic quickly propelled him to fame, and

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