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.
43 movies · 43 shows
Beam Me Up, Sulu
2025·6.0
Yorktown: A Time to Heal
2022·0.0
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
2019·5.7
The People I've Slept With
2009·4.5
Hollywood Chinese
2007·0.0
The Slanted Screen
2006·10.0
Brother
2000·7.1
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century
1999·0.0
Mulan
1998·7.9
Drive
1997·6.1
Space Marines
1996·3.5
Midnight Man
1995·5.2
Cage II: The Arena of Death
1994·3.3
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die
1994·6.8
China Cry
1990·6.4
Home from the Eastern Sea
1990·0.0
Cage
1989·3.7
Slaying the Dragon
1988·8.0
Die Hard
1988·7.8
The Renegades
1982·6.6
Tomorrow's Child
1982·4.3
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb
1980·6.0
Samurai
1979·9.0
Midway
1976·6.6
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
1976·7.0
Matt Helm
1975·0.0
The Yakuza
1974·7.1
The Questor Tapes
1974·5.9
Lost Horizon
1973·5.5
The Young Lawyers
1969·10.0
Operation Heartbeat
1969·8.0
Escape to Mindanao
1968·9.0
Manila, Open City
1968·8.5
Nobody's Perfect
1968·6.3
The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk
1967·6.3
Death Walks in Laredo
1967·7.2
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
1966·5.2
Carol for Another Christmas
1964·5.9
Flower Drum Song
1961·6.3
Bridge to the Sun
1961·6.9
Cry for Happy
1961·5.4
Walk Like a Dragon
1960·6.3
The Crimson Kimono
1959·6.6