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James Shigeta

James Shigeta

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.

Birthday: 1929-06-17

Place of birth: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

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Know for department: Acting

Also known as: James Saburo Shigeta, 繁田三郎

Brother
Brother

2000-12-13

Sugimoto

Die Hard
Die Hard

1988-07-15

Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi

Mulan
Mulan

1998-06-18

General Li (voice)

Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song

1961-11-09

Wang Ta

Drive
Drive

1997-08-06

Mr. Lau

The Crimson Kimono
The Crimson Kimono

1959-10-21

Detective Joe Kojaku

The Yakuza
The Yakuza

1974-12-21

Goro

The People I've Slept With
The People I've Slept With

2009-08-13

Charles Yang

The Questor Tapes
The Questor Tapes

1974-01-23

Dr. Chen

Escape to Mindanao
Escape to Mindanao

1968-12-07

Lt. Takahashi

Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Paradise, Hawaiian Style

1966-04-23

Danny Kohana

Home from the Eastern Sea
Home from the Eastern Sea

1990-01-01

Narrator

Matt Helm
Matt Helm

1975-05-07

Tom McCauley

Tomorrow's Child
Tomorrow's Child

1982-03-22

Donald Shibura

Carol for Another Christmas
Carol for Another Christmas

1964-12-28

Japanese Doctor

Lost Horizon
Lost Horizon

1973-03-14

Brother To-Lenn

Death Walks in Laredo
Death Walks in Laredo

1967-02-18

Lester Koto

Cry for Happy
Cry for Happy

1961-03-03

Harue

Bridge to the Sun
Bridge to the Sun

1961-10-17

Hidenari Terasaki

Nobody's Perfect
Nobody's Perfect

1968-01-12

Diver Toshi O'Hara

The Renegades
The Renegades

1982-08-11

Jimmy Lee

China Cry
China Cry

1990-11-02

Dr. Sung

Midway
Midway

1976-06-18

Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo

The Slanted Screen
The Slanted Screen

2006-01-03

Himself

Operation Heartbeat
Operation Heartbeat

1969-04-17

Chief Resident

Manila, Open City
Manila, Open City

1968-01-13

Captain Murakami

Midnight Man
Midnight Man

1995-05-09

Mao Mak

Walk Like a Dragon
Walk Like a Dragon

1960-06-01

Cheng Lu

Hollywood Chinese
Hollywood Chinese

2007-03-18

Self

The Young Lawyers
The Young Lawyers

1969-10-28

Lee Ahn

Cage II: The Arena of Death
Cage II: The Arena of Death

1994-12-14

Tin Lum Yin

Space Marines
Space Marines

1996-01-01

Ambassador Nakamura

Samurai
Samurai

1979-04-30

Takeo Chisato

Cage
Cage

1989-09-01

Tin Lum Yin

The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die

1976-04-04

David Lao

Yorktown: A Time to Heal
Yorktown: A Time to Heal

2022-04-05

Admiral Heilachiro Nogura

Beam Me Up, Sulu
Beam Me Up, Sulu

2025-06-25

Self