About
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".
Filmography
Beam Me Up, Sulu2025 · Self
Yorktown: A Time to Heal2022 · Admiral Heilachiro Nogura
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood2019 · (archive footage)
The People I've Slept With2009 · Charles Yang
Hollywood Chinese2007 · Self
The Slanted Screen2006 · Himself
Brother2000 · Sugimoto
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century1999 · Narrator
Mulan1998 · General Li (voice)
Drive1997 · Mr. Lau
Space Marines1996 · Ambassador Nakamura
Midnight Man1995 · Mao Mak
Cage II: The Arena of Death1994 · Tin Lum Yin
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die1994 · Det. Whoo
China Cry1990 · Dr. Sung
Home from the Eastern Sea1990 · Narrator
Cage1989 · Tin Lum Yin
Slaying the Dragon1988
Die Hard1988 · Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
The Renegades1982 · Jimmy Lee


















