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

• 2022Yorktown: A Time to Heal — Admiral Heilachiro Nogura
• 2019Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood — (archive footage)
• 2010The People I've Slept With — Charles Yang
• Avatar: The Last Airbender — Old Wanderer (voice)
• Threat Matrix — Kang Sok-Joo
• 2000Brother — Sugimoto
• 1999Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century — Narrator
• 1998Mulan — General Li (voice)
• 1997Drive — Mr. Lau
• 1996Space Marines — Ambassador Nakamura
• The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest — Inspector Mantjur (voice), Dr. Yamashiro (voice)
• Cybill — Mr. Matsuzaki
• 1995Midnight Man — Mao Mak
• Babylon 5 — Taro Isogi
• 1994Cage II: The Arena of Death — Tin Lum Yin
• 1994Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die — Det. Whoo
• seaQuest DSV — Vietnamese President Chi
• Renegade — Mr. Ota
• Beverly Hills, 90210 — Ben Sosna
• 1990China Cry — Dr. Sung
• 1990Home from the Eastern Sea — Narrator
• 1989Cage — Tin Lum Yin
• 1988Die Hard — Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
• 1988Slaying the Dragon
• Jake and the Fatman — Mr. Koso Nakasone
• Airwolf — Colonel Tranh Van Zung
• Murder, She Wrote — John Sukahara, Luc Li
• Masquerade — Makko
• The Hitchhiker — Nishi
• Matt Houston — Lin Ha
• T. J. Hooker — Chow Duc Khan
• 1982The Renegades — Jimmy Lee
• 1982Tomorrow's Child — Donald Shibura
• Simon & Simon
• 1980Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb — Field Marshal Abehata
• Magnum, P.I. — Richard Enoka, Mr. Obotu
• 1979Samurai — Takeo Chisato
• The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
• The Love Boat — Bud's Father
• 1976Midway — Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
• Once an Eagle — Lin Tso-Han
• 1976The Killer Who Wouldn't Die — David Lao
• Ellery Queen — Stephen Yang
• 1975Matt Helm — Tom McCauley
• S.W.A.T.
• Little House on the Prairie — Sam Wing
• Police Woman
• 1974The Questor Tapes — Dr. Chen
• The Rockford Files — Clement Chin
• 1974The Yakuza — Goro
• 1973Lost Horizon — Brother To-Lenn
• Emergency!
• Kung Fu — Master Kwan Li, Col. Lin Pei
• The Streets of San Francisco — Prosecutor
• Hawaii Five-O — Joseph Matsukino
• Medical Center — Dr. Osaka
• 1969Operation Heartbeat — Chief Resident
• 1969The Young Lawyers — Lee Ahn
• 1968Escape to Mindanao — Lt. Takahashi
• 1968Manila, Open City — Captain Murakami
• 1968Nobody's Perfect — Diver Toshi O'Hara
• 1967Death Walks in Laredo — Lester Koto
• Ironside
• 1967The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk — George Ti Ming
• Mission: Impossible — Shiki
• 1966Paradise, Hawaiian Style — Danny Kohana
• 1964Carol for Another Christmas — Japanese Doctor
• The Bing Crosby Show
• Burke's Law — Sidney Ying
• The Lieutenant
• The Outer Limits — Maj. Jong, AIO Captain Newa
• Ben Casey — Dr. Harvey Lee
• 1961Bridge to the Sun — Hidenari Terasaki
• 1961Cry for Happy — Suzuki
• Dr. Kildare — Dr. Roy Shigera
• 1961Flower Drum Song — Wang Ta
• Kraft Mystery Theatre
• 1960Walk Like a Dragon — Cheng Lu
• 1959The Crimson Kimono — Detective Joe Kojaku
• Naked City — James Kam
• Perry Mason — Ward Toyama

Appearances as themselves (5)

• 2025Beam Me Up, Sulu — Self
• 2007Hollywood Chinese — Self
• 2006The Slanted Screen — Himself
• The Dinah Shore Chevy Show — Self
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Audience Member, Self - Nominee, Self - Winner