James Shigeta
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- June 17, 1929
- Died
- July 28, 2014
- Birthplace
- Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
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.
Filmography
Beam Me Up, Sulu 2025
as Self
Yorktown: A Time to Heal 2022
as Admiral Heilachiro Nogura
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood 2019
as (archive footage)
The People I've Slept With 2010
as Charles Yang
Hollywood Chinese 2007
as Self
The Slanted Screen 2006
as Himself
Brother 2000
as Sugimoto
- Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century 1999
as Narrator
Mulan 1998
as General Li (voice)
Drive 1997
as Mr. Lau
Space Marines 1996
as Ambassador Nakamura
Midnight Man 1995
as Mao Mak
Cage II: The Arena of Death 1994
as Tin Lum Yin
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die 1994
as Det. Whoo
China Cry 1990
as Dr. Sung
- Home from the Eastern Sea
Home from the Eastern Sea 1990
as Narrator
Cage 1989
as Tin Lum Yin
Slaying the Dragon 1988
Actor
Die Hard 1988
as Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
The Renegades 1982
as Jimmy Lee
Tomorrow's Child 1982
as Donald Shibura
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb 1980
as Field Marshal Abehata
Samurai 1979
as Takeo Chisato
Midway 1976
as Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die 1976
as David Lao
Matt Helm 1975
as Tom McCauley
The Yakuza 1974
as Goro
The Questor Tapes 1974
as Dr. Chen
Lost Horizon 1973
as Brother To-Lenn
The Young Lawyers 1969
as Lee Ahn
Operation Heartbeat 1969
as Chief Resident
Escape to Mindanao 1968
as Lt. Takahashi
Manila, Open City 1968
as Captain Murakami
Nobody's Perfect 1968
as Diver Toshi O'Hara
- The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk
The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk 1967
as George Ti Ming
Death Walks in Laredo 1967
as Lester Koto
Paradise, Hawaiian Style 1966
as Danny Kohana
Carol for Another Christmas 1964
as Japanese Doctor
Flower Drum Song 1961
as Wang Ta
Bridge to the Sun 1961
as Hidenari Terasaki
Cry for Happy 1961
as Suzuki
Walk Like a Dragon 1960
as Cheng Lu
The Crimson Kimono 1959
as Detective Joe Kojaku
Credits from TMDB.