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James Shigeta profile
Actor

James Shigeta

Acting

Career Snapshot

Explained

These indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.

Acting credits

83

Prolific

Very extensive acting filmography.

TMDB popularity

0.5

Low visibility

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Movies: 40Series: 43

TMDB ID: 4995

IMDb ID: nm0793363

Known for: Acting

Born: June 17, 1929

Died: July 28, 2014

Age: 85

Place of birth: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

Gender: Male

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1944 - 2025

Years active: 82

Average TMDB rating: 6.89

Wikidata: Q1400297

Also known as

James Saburo Shigeta • 繁田三郎

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.

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