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
ActingBirthday
June 17, 1929Deathday
July 28, 2014Gender
MaleKnown Movie Credits
42Place of birth
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USAAlso known as
James Saburo Shigeta, 繁田三郎
Cast credits
Brother
Sugimoto
Die Hard
Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
Mulan
General Li (voice)
Flower Drum Song
Wang Ta
Drive
Mr. Lau
The Crimson Kimono
Detective Joe Kojaku
The Yakuza
Goro
The People I've Slept With
Charles Yang
The Questor Tapes
Dr. Chen
Escape to Mindanao
Lt. Takahashi
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Danny Kohana
Matt Helm
Tom McCauley
Tomorrow's Child
Donald Shibura
Carol for Another Christmas
Japanese Doctor
Lost Horizon
Brother To-Lenn
Death Walks in Laredo
Lester Koto
Cry for Happy
Harue
Bridge to the Sun
Hidenari Terasaki
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
(archive footage)
Nobody's Perfect
Diver Toshi O'HaraImages
