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James Shigeta

James Shigeta

Birthday: 1929-06-17 | Place of Birth: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

James Saburo Shigeta (June 17, 1929 – July 28, 2014) was an American actor, singer, and musician of Japanese descent. He was noted for his roles in The Crimson Kimono (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bridge to the Sun (1961), Die Hard (1988), and Mulan (1998). In 1960, he won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, along with three other actors. In his early career, Shigeta often played romantic male lead roles, which were almost nonexistent for an actor of Asian descent during his time, making him a trailblazer in Asian American representation in media. The Goldsea Asian-American Daily magazine listed him as one of the "Most Inspiring Asian-Americans Of All Time". Before his Hollywood career he found success as a pop singer and performer abroad, especially in Japan and Australia.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2009
The People I've Slept With

as    Charles Yang

2006
The Slanted Screen

as    Himself

2001
Brother

as    Sugimoto

1997
Drive

as    Mr. Lau

1996
Space Marines

as    Ambassador Nakamura

1995
Midnight Man

as    Mao Mak

1994
1994
Cage II: The Arena of Death

as    Tin Lum Yin

1990
Home from the Eastern Sea

as    Narrator

1989
Cage

as    Tin Lum Yin

1988
Die Hard

as    Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi

1982
The Renegades

as    Jimmy Lee

1980
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb

as    Field Marshal Abehata

1976
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die

as    David Lao

1975
The Yakuza

as    Goro

1974
The Questor Tapes

as    Dr. Chen

1973
Lost Horizon

as    Brother To-Lenn

1969
Operation Heartbeat

as    Chief Resident

1968
Manila, Open City

as    Captain Murakami

1968
Nobody's Perfect

as    Diver Toshi O'Hara

1967
Death Walks in Laredo

as    Lester Koto

1966
Paradise, Hawaiian Style

as    Danny Kohana

1964
Carol for Another Christmas

as    Japanese Doctor

1961
Flower Drum Song

as    Wang Ta