The Couch Critic Logo
The Couch CriticCouch Critic
TrendingMoviesTV ShowsListsReviewsWhat to Watch
LogoThe Couch Critic

Menu

TrendingMoviesTV ShowsListsReviewsWhat to Watch

© 2026 The Couch Critic

The Couch Critic Logo

The Couch Critic

Your go-to destination for honest movie and TV show reviews from a passionate community of critics. Join the conversation today.

X

Explore

  • Trending
  • Movies
  • TV Shows
  • Reviews
  • Lists
  • Games
  • About Us

Categories

  • Popular Movies
  • Trending Now
  • Upcoming
  • Airing Today
  • Movie Genres
  • TV Genres

Community

  • Guides
  • What to Watch

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Cookie Policy
  • RSS Feed
© 2026 The Couch Critic.•Built by Hayden Thorn
Cookie Settings
The Movie Database

This application uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.

Home/People/James Shigeta
James Shigeta profile photo
Born
Jun 17, 1929Died: Jul 28, 2014
Lived 85 years
Place of Birth
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
Known For
Acting
Gender
Male

Career Highlights

43
Movies
52
TV Shows
Also Known As
James Saburo Shigeta
繁田三郎
IMDb Profile

James Shigeta

Acting

Biography
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.
Beam Me Up, Sulu poster

Beam Me Up, Sulu

as Self
2025
Yorktown: A Time to Heal poster

Yorktown: A Time to Heal

as Admiral Heilachiro Nogura
2022
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood poster

Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood

as (archive footage)
2019
The People I've Slept With poster

The People I've Slept With

as Charles Yang
2009
Hollywood Chinese poster

Hollywood Chinese

as Self
2007
The Slanted Screen poster

The Slanted Screen

as Himself
2006
Brother poster

Brother

as Sugimoto
2000
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century poster

Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century

as Narrator
1999
Mulan poster

Mulan

as General Li (voice)
1998
Drive poster

Drive

as Mr. Lau
1997
Space Marines poster

Space Marines

as Ambassador Nakamura
1996
Midnight Man poster

Midnight Man

as Mao Mak
1995
Cage II: The Arena of Death poster

Cage II: The Arena of Death

as Tin Lum Yin
1994
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die poster

Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die

as Det. Whoo
1994
China Cry poster

China Cry

as Dr. Sung
1990
Home from the Eastern Sea poster

Home from the Eastern Sea

as Narrator
1990
Cage poster

Cage

as Tin Lum Yin
1989
Slaying the Dragon poster

Slaying the Dragon

Cast
1988
Die Hard poster

Die Hard

as Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
1988
The Renegades poster

The Renegades

as Jimmy Lee
1982