James Shigeta
Acting
1929-06-17 · 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 · Movie
Yorktown: A Time to Heal
2022 · Movie
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
2019 · Movie
The People I've Slept With
2009 · Movie
Hollywood Chinese
2007 · Movie
The Slanted Screen
2006 · Movie
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005 · Series
Threat Matrix
2003 · Series
Brother
2000 · Movie
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century
1999 · Movie
Mulan
1998 · Movie
Drive
1997 · Movie
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
1996 · Series
Space Marines
1996 · Movie
Midnight Man
1995 · Movie
Cybill
1995 · Series
Cage II: The Arena of Death
1994 · Movie
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die
1994 · Movie
Babylon 5
1994 · Series
seaQuest DSV
1993 · Series
Renegade
1992 · Series
China Cry
1990 · Movie
Beverly Hills, 90210
1990 · Series
Home from the Eastern Sea
1990 · Movie
Cage
1989 · Movie
Slaying the Dragon
1988 · Movie
Die Hard
1988 · Movie
Jake and the Fatman
1987 · Series
Murder, She Wrote
1984 · Series
Airwolf
1984 · Series
Masquerade
1983 · Series
The Hitchhiker
1983 · Series
Matt Houston
1982 · Series
The Renegades
1982 · Movie
Tomorrow's Child
1982 · Movie
T. J. Hooker
1982 · Series
Simon & Simon
1981 · Series
Magnum, P.I.
1980 · Series
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb
1980 · Movie
Samurai
1979 · Movie
The Love Boat
1977 · Series
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
1977 · Series
Once an Eagle
1976 · Series
Midway
1976 · Movie
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
1976 · Movie
Ellery Queen
1975 · Series
Matt Helm
1975 · Movie
S.W.A.T.
1975 · Series
The Yakuza
1974 · Movie
The Rockford Files
1974 · Series
Police Woman
1974 · Series
Little House on the Prairie
1974 · Series
The Questor Tapes
1974 · Movie
Lost Horizon
1973 · Movie
Kung Fu
1972 · Series
The Streets of San Francisco
1972 · Series
Emergency!
1972 · Series
The Young Lawyers
1969 · Movie
Medical Center
1969 · Series
Operation Heartbeat
1969 · Movie
Escape to Mindanao
1968 · Movie
Hawaii Five-O
1968 · Series
Manila, Open City
1968 · Movie
Nobody's Perfect
1968 · Movie
The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk
1967 · Movie
Ironside
1967 · Series
Death Walks in Laredo
1967 · Movie
Mission: Impossible
1966 · Series
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
1966 · Movie
Carol for Another Christmas
1964 · Movie
The Bing Crosby Show
1964 · Series
Burke's Law
1963 · Series
The Outer Limits
1963 · Series
The Lieutenant
1963 · Series
Flower Drum Song
1961 · Movie
Bridge to the Sun
1961 · Movie
Ben Casey
1961 · Series
Dr. Kildare
1961 · Series
Kraft Mystery Theatre
1961 · Series
Cry for Happy
1961 · Movie
Walk Like a Dragon
1960 · Movie
The Crimson Kimono
1959 · Movie
Naked City
1958 · Series
Perry Mason
1957 · Series
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · Series
Golden Globe Awards
1944 · Series