{"id":17109,"date":"2025-12-05T18:13:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T10:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=17109"},"modified":"2025-12-05T18:13:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T10:13:36","slug":"rest-in-peace-your-soul-is-eternal-tributes-for-mortal-kombat-actor-cary-hiroyuki-tagawa-who-has-died-aged-75","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=17109","title":{"rendered":"‘Rest in Peace. Your Soul Is Eternal’ \u2014 Tributes for Mortal Kombat Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Who Has Died Aged 75"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who played Shang Tsung in the original Mortal Kombat movie as well as video game Mortal Kombat 11, has died aged 75.<\/p>\n

The star of The Last Emperor, Memoirs of a Geisha, and The Man in the High Castle, died Thursday in Santa Barbara due to complications from a stroke, Deadline reported.<\/p>\n

Tagawa famously played evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in the 1995 adaptation of the Mortal Kombat video game, becoming an instantly recognizable face for an army of fans. In the movie, Shang Tsung points to a helpless Liu Kang while holding his brother, Chan hostage, and declares: “your brother’s soul is mine!” Tagawa would go on to make his ‘Your soul is mine!’ line an iconic part of Shang Tsung lore, and it has endured in the 30 years since. After the original Mortal Kombat movie, Tagawa went on to play Shang Tsung multiple times, including in 2019\u2019s Mortal Kombat 11, where his voice and physical likeness was used \u2014 much to the delight of fans.<\/p>\n

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Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Christopher Lambert at the Mortal Kombat Los Angeles premiere in August 1995. Photo by Jim Smeal\/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Other film roles included Kwang in James Bond movie Licence to Kill, Commander Minoru Genda in Pearl Harbor, and Heihachi Mishima in the 2009 Tekken movie and its 2014 sequel, Tekken 2: Kazuya’s Revenge.<\/p>\n

Tagawa\u2019s last major role came in 2015, when he played one of the lead characters in Amazon\u2019s The Man in the High Castle. His final role was voicing Eiji the Swordmaker in Season 1 of Netflix\u2019s well-received animated Blue Eye Samurai.<\/p>\n

Ed Boon, development chief at Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm, paid tribute to Tagawa in a post on social media. \u201cWe lost a legend today,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had the privilege of his portrayal on the first MK film but also as an amazing voice actor in the Mortal Kombat 11 game. Cary was one of a kind. He combined danger, swagger and athleticism to his roles and will always be remembered as the man who first brought Shang Tsung to life on film. Rest in Peace. Your soul is eternal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd Garner, producer on the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie as well as its upcoming sequel, also took to social media, saying: “Sad news. Great man. Great actor. He will be missed.”<\/p>\n

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We lost a legend today. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa @CHTOfficial<\/a> played Shang Tsung in the 1995 Mortal Kombat film and sadly passed away at age 75. We had the privilege of his portrayal on the first MK film but also as an amazing voice actor in the Mortal Kombat 11 game.<\/p>\n

Cary was one\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/iAnTc0odGH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ed Boon (@noobde) December 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Man \ud83d\ude41 <\/p>\n

RIP to Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa <\/p>\n

You will always be my Shang Tsung pic.twitter.com\/bv7NwaF04I<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Justin Wong (@JWonggg) December 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n