Aloha! I am Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa! I'm an actor, martial artist, and co-creator of Tagawa Comics. Ask me anything, LIVE on video!

Aloha, reddit!

EDIT: Thank you so much for joining us for the AMA. Unfortunately, hotel Wifi cut our session short, but the questions were great and I had a lot of fun. This is someting I'd love to do on a regular basis, don't forget to head over to our Kickstarter Page and like us on Facebook. We're working on linking everyone who asked questions with their answers. In the meantime, the full video is here.

My name is Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. You may recognize me from movies I've been in like Mortal Kombat, Pearl Harbor, and Planet of the Apes. I've been in over 100 movies!

Over the last few weeks I've been all over the world. I recently finished shooting a brand new pilot for an Amazon series The Man In The High Castle, went to Kazakhstan where a 7,000 year old form of martial arts has been discovered, and I'm currently in Providence, RI for Rhode Island Comic Con.

I have recently launched a new venture with my good friend, author and co-creator John Gervais, Tagawa Comics! We're releasing a series of graphic novels centered around multiple characters in a unique world, including an alternate version of myself. It's been a lot of fun and we can't wait to share the finished product with you all. You can get involved directly with the creation of Tagawa Comics via our Kickstarter.

John and I will be doing a live video AMA via Youtube at 1pm EST, which is a little under two hours from when I'm posting this. That gives you all time to come up with your best questions, and we will be answering them via Youtube Live at this link.

Because the whole AMA experience will be posted on Youtube, if we answer your question we will send you an exact time stamp of when your question was answered, so you don't have to worry about asking a question and not being here when we answer it!

I am extremely excited to begin this exciting new adventure called Reddit. I would like to make a shoutout to Victoria and Coniform from Reddit for helping with the setup process.

Send me some crazy questions! I look forward to hearing from you!

Comments: 89 • Responses: 16  • Date: 

Judasko6 karma

I read you started off as a healer before coming to Hollywood. Could you tell more? Who taught you? Who was your master?

CaryTagawa3 karma

THANX...CHUU SHIN DO WAS AN OUTCOME OF DEEP DISSATISFACTION ON THE TREATMENT MY FATHER RECIEVED FOR STOMACH CANCER..THE DEVELOPMENT OF IT WAS INSPIRED BY HIM AND IS DEDICATED TO HIM..GOD IS MY MASTER AND LEADS ME AND GUIDES MY EVERY STEP.

Judasko2 karma

Thank you so much, Cary!!!

CaryTagawa5 karma

No, thank YOU for the great questions. We would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to check out our Kickstarter.

CaryTagawa2 karma

YOU ARE MASSIVELY WELCOME...THANX FOR TUNING IN..TO BE CONTINUED

JackL-4 karma

How old were you when you got into acting?

what made you get into acting?

CaryTagawa7 karma

GOOD QUESTION..36 YRS.OLD...I WAITED FOR 19 YRS AFTER LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE RIGHT TIMING...I AM SO PATIENT IT HURTS BECAUSE I AM ALSO SO IMPATIENT...BEEN A GREAT EXERCISE IN LIFE TO LEARN...I LOVED MOVIES SO MUCH FROM SUCH A YOUNG AGE THAT WHEN MY MOM BROKE IT BOUT THE CRAFT, I IMMEDIATELY GOT IT..THE REST WAS LIVE LIFE, LOVE LIFE AND WAIT

StubsKubik4 karma

thank you for the AMA.

If you were asked to play Shang Tsung again would you go for it?

Also while they were filming that MK movie did anything go wrong as being hurt or anything of the sorts?

How was the experience being on Baywatch?

CaryTagawa6 karma

ALOHA...I KNOW ROBIN SHOU DEFINITELY GOT BANGED UP DURING THE REPTILE FIGHT NOT BECAUSE OF THE OTHER FIGHTER BUT FROM BANGING INTO THE SETS..IT LOOKED LIKE IT HURT AND IT DID I AM SURE..BAYWATCH WAS A FUN EXPERIENCE..MY FRIENDS DOUG AND DEBBIE SCHWARTZ WERE THE PRODUCERS AND MY GOOD FRIENDS

dansden4 karma

  1. Any stories you want to share from Planet of the Apes?

  2. What actors were you a fan of before you started acting?

CaryTagawa5 karma

Cary would like to know if you're a Tim Burton fan.

CaryTagawa3 karma

SORRY TO SAY I WASNT...DARKER FILMS DONT REALLY INTEREST ME MUCH..BUT TO WORK WITH HIM WAS QUITE THE MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE

CaryTagawa5 karma

THANX FOR THE QUESTION..NOW THERE WAS A CHALLENGE..5 HR. MAKEUP AT 2 AM TILL 8 PM SHOOTING THEN BACK AGAIN AT 2 AM..THE LOCATIONS WERE BRUTAL, AND FINALLY THE FACT THAT ALTHOUGH I PLAYED A GOOD GUY I DIED ANYWAY..OF COURSE BEFORE I STARTED ACTING MY FAVS WERE PETER O'TOOLE, PACINO, DE NIRO, MERYL STREEP

odsdaniel4 karma

Hello Mr. Tagawa, you are one of the most familiar faces of my teenage years and I want to thank you for hours and hours of entertainment. I got two questions: what's the craziest stunt you have ever done? and, what's your live motto?

CaryTagawa6 karma

My life motto would have to be "Never Give Up, Never Surrender...Use It."

CaryTagawa4 karma

THE CRAZIEST STUNT WAS A SIMPLE FIGHT IN ONE OF MY FIRST TIMES ON FILM..THE CRAZIEST DANGEROUS PART WAS THE FACT THAT THE ACTOR WASNT A MARTIAL ARTIST AND DIDNT UNDERSTAND FIGHTING AND WAS HIGH ON COKE..BAD COMBO

canicrosser4 karma

Mr. Tagawa, could you please tell us a bit about the challenges of being an Asian American actor in the movie industry? Thank you in advance, I'm a huge fan.

CaryTagawa7 karma

ALOHA AND THANX FOR THE QUESTION..THE CHALLENGES OF BEING AN ACTOR AND THE NEAR TO IMPOSSIBLE ODDS OF ANY SUCCESS NO MATTER WHAT COLOR FAR OUTWEIGH THE ISSUE OF RACE IN THIS WAY..BECAUSE I AM ASIAN, THE ODDS OF BEING CONSIDERED ON A SHORT LIST CREATE BETTER CHANCES OF BEING HIRED..W/O SOUNDING SILLY, I WOULD NEVER BE CONSIDERED TO PLAY A CAUCASIAN OR A FEMALE..SO I FOCUSED ON THE POSITIVE AND HAVE ACHIEVED MORE THAN IF I WAS TAKING CHALLENGES SERIOUSLY..

phanandy932 karma

What was it like to revisit the character of Shang Tsung after 16 years? Was there a different approach to how you chose to portray the character?

CaryTagawa4 karma

THANX FOR THAT QUESTION..IT WAS A PLEASURE TO WORK W/ KEVIN THE DIRECTOR AND HE WAS KEEN TO KEEP THE INTENSITY AND HAVE IT UNDERPLAYED..I THINK IT WORKED TO DO THAT...

warriorwitch01112 karma

Do You have a real tattoo? If yes, what it is and where it is?

CaryTagawa3 karma

No I do not.

seiriyu2 karma

Are you into anime/manga as well? If so, do you have a particular favorite?

CaryTagawa6 karma

Not currently, but when I was around 12 I was huge fan of a manga from Japan called Sarutobi Sasuke. I also love Atom Boy and Ashita No Joe.

I_do_the_lords_kiss1 karma

Lost feed?

CaryTagawa3 karma

Yes, unfortunately we did. We're using hotel wifi and it cut out. We're definitely planning on doing more of these in the future.

I_do_the_lords_kiss3 karma

No worries. Keep up the good work. I look forward to future AMAs.

CaryTagawa4 karma

Thanks for the great questions and support. If you haven't already, please check out our kickstarter. We've got some really awesome rewards and every dollar helps us get closer to making Tagawa Comics a reality.