Licensing

Mapping Out an Actor's Career

In this scene from "Midway" (1976), Shigeta makes battle plans with Robert Ito and Pat Morita.

James Shigeta's early work made him a true trailblazer for positive representation of Asians in film. His headlining roles dried up not because he couldn't act, but because the studios stopped looking for Asian leading men. So while Shigeta's voyage through Hollywood took a winding path, his ship stayed afloat and he forged an acting career spanning nearly five decades.