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