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.
Known for
Magnum, P.I.
Richard Enoka
Beverly Hills, 90210
Murder, She Wrote
John Sukahara
Murder, She Wrote
Luc Li
Babylon 5
Taro Isogi
The Love Boat
Bud's Father
Renegade
Renegade
Mr. Ota
Perry Mason
Ward Toyama
Little House on the Prairie
The Rockford Files
Clement Chin
Jake and the Fatman
Mr. Koso Nakasone
Hawaii Five-O
Joseph Matsukino
Mission: Impossible
Shiki
Medical Center
Dr. Osaka
Ben Casey
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Roy Shigera
Ironside
Simon & Simon
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Inspector Mantjur (voice)
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Dr. Yamashiro (voice)
Airwolf
Colonel Tranh Van Zung
Burke's Law
Sidney Ying
T. J. Hooker
Chow Duc Khan
Police Woman
The Outer Limits
Maj. Jong
The Outer Limits
AIO Captain Newa
Avatar: The Last Airbender
seaQuest DSV
Vietnamese President Chi
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco
Prosecutor
Naked City
James Kam
Matt Houston
Emergency!
Threat Matrix
Kang Sok-Joo
The Hitchhiker
Nishi
The Bing Crosby Show
Mulan
General Li (voice)
The Lieutenant
Ellery Queen
Stephen Yang
Die Hard
Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
S.W.A.T.
Kraft Mystery Theatre
Masquerade
Makko
Once an Eagle
Lin Tso-Han
Midway
Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
Brother
Sugimoto
Kung Fu
The Yakuza
Goro
Drive
Mr. Lau
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
(archive footage)
Flower Drum Song
Wang Ta
Lost Horizon
Brother To-Lenn
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Danny Kohana
Cage
Tin Lum Yin
The Questor Tapes
Dr. Chen
Death Walks in Laredo
Lester Koto
Hollywood Chinese
Self
The Crimson Kimono
Detective Joe Kojaku
Midnight Man
Mao Mak
The People I've Slept With
Charles Yang
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
David Lao
China Cry
Dr. Sung
Samurai
Takeo Chisato
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Tin Lum Yin
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb
Field Marshal Abehata
Carol for Another Christmas
Japanese Doctor
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die
Det. Whoo
Walk Like a Dragon
Cheng Lu
Space Marines
Ambassador Nakamura
Matt Helm
Tom McCauley
The Young Lawyers
Lee Ahn
Cry for Happy
Harue
The Slanted Screen
Himself
Bridge to the Sun
Hidenari Terasaki
Tomorrow's Child
Donald Shibura
The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk
George Ti Ming
The Renegades
Jimmy Lee
Operation Heartbeat
Chief Resident
Yorktown: A Time to Heal
Admiral Heilachiro Nogura
Nobody's Perfect
Diver Toshi O'Hara
Escape to Mindanao
Lt. Takahashi
Manila, Open City
Captain Murakami
Slaying the Dragon
Home from the Eastern Sea
Narrator
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century
Narrator
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Audience Member
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Winner