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.
Movies
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
Home from the Eastern Sea
Narrator
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'Hara
The Renegades
Jimmy Lee
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die
Det. Whoo
China Cry
Dr. Sung
Midway
Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century
Narrator
The Slanted Screen
Himself
Operation Heartbeat
Chief Resident
Manila, Open City
Captain Murakami
Midnight Man
Mao Mak
Walk Like a Dragon
Cheng Lu
Hollywood Chinese
Self
The Young Lawyers
Lee Ahn
Slaying the Dragon
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb
Field Marshal Abehata
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Tin Lum Yin
Space Marines
Ambassador Nakamura
Samurai
Takeo Chisato
Cage
Tin Lum Yin
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
David Lao
Yorktown: A Time to Heal
Admiral Heilachiro Nogura
The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk
George Ti Ming
Shows
Murder, She Wrote
John Sukahara
Magnum, P.I.
Dr. Richard Enoka
Threat Matrix
Kang Sok-Joo
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Burke's Law
Sidney Ying
T. J. Hooker
Chow Duc Khan
Kung Fu
Little House on the Prairie
Beverly Hills, 90210
seaQuest DSV
Vietnamese President Chi
Simon & Simon
Airwolf
Colonel Tranh Van Zung
Hawaii Five-O
Joseph Matsukino
The Streets of San Francisco
Naked City
James Kam
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
Babylon 5
Taro Isogi
Perry Mason
Ward Toyama
Mission: Impossible
Shiki
Emergency!
Ironside
Police Woman
S.W.A.T.
Matt Houston
The Hitchhiker
Nishi
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
Ben Casey
Ellery Queen
Stephen Yang
The Lieutenant
The Bing Crosby Show
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Roy Shigera
The Outer Limits
Maj. Jong
Kraft Mystery Theatre
Renegade
Masquerade
Makko
Jake and the Fatman
Mr. Koso Nakasone
The Outer Limits
AIO Captain Newa
The Rockford Files
Clement Chin
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Inspector Mantjur (voice)
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Dr. Yamashiro (voice)
The Streets of San Francisco
Prosecutor
Medical Center
Dr. Osaka
Murder, She Wrote
Luc Li
Once an Eagle
Lin Tso-Han
Renegade
Mr. Ota
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Audience Member