Japanese-born American actor and producer Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa passed away in Santa Barbara, California, on December 4, from stroke-related complications, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 75.Tagawa was born in Tokyo and moved to the USA when he was six years old. He was the son of a Japanese actress, Mariko Hata, and a Japanese-American father who served in the U.S. Army.Later, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa started his own family in Kauai, Hawaii, with his wife, Sally Phillips, whom he married in 1984, and their three children, Calen, Byrnne, and Cana. He is survived by his wife, kids, and two grandkids, River and Thea Clayton.All you need to know about Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s parentsAccording to goldsea.com, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s father was born and raised in a working-class Japanese immigrant family in Hawaii. Later, he joined the United States Army’s counter-intelligence unit in Japan, where he met his mother and fell in love with her.Meanwhile, Mariko Hata took the stage name of Hata Mari, inspired by World War I German spy Mata Hari. She was a member of the Takarazuka Revue, a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe, founded in Takarazuka in 1914. In it, she played strong male characters.Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s mother belonged to an aristocratic family where her father, Nakayama Motoharu, worked as a secretary in the architecture department of the Japanese imperial government, and her great-grandfather was a count.According to Tagawa, his father was uncommunicative and never told his children about his war experiences. However, he discouraged young Cary-Hiroyuki when he wanted to sit for the West Point entrance exam in Duarte, California, as a high school senior.The late Mortal Kombat actor spent his adolescent years across military bases in the USA, including in Texas, North Carolina, and Louisiana. However, after his dad retired, the family shifted to Pasadena in Southern California.Just like his father discouraged him from a military career, his mother also disapproved of him taking up acting, as she considered that Asian roles in the USA had no substance. Later, however, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was encouraged by his college drama teacher to pursue acting as a profession.During his November 2004 interview with the Honolulu Magazine, the Man in the High Castle star offered an insight into his roots.“My father was born on Moloka’i. He met my mother in the service when he was stationed in Japan. I was born in Tokyo, but my brother Greg was born here [in Honolulu]. I was named after Cary Grant and my brother was named after Gregory Peck. My mother was a real Hollywood movie fan,” Tagawa noted.Cary-Hiroyuki also credited his mother for giving him her “rebelliousness,” which he considered the “key to acting.” He added that to be a good actor, one must be willing to “move against the norm,” especially as an Asian, who is often told “not to make a spectacle of yourself.In a previous interview with Ortho Christian, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa shared his connection to Russia and why he took Russian citizenship in 2016. He mentioned that his army veteran father learned Russian during his service, while his singer uncle often performed in Moscow in the 1960s.“I grew up in America and the Japanese part of my soul helped me survive even though I was far from my Motherland. When I came to Russia, I felt that my Japanese origin was very close to the heart and soul of the Russian people. Most importantly, I noticed that the personalities and souls of these two people were indeed similar: you and I are not soldiers, but warriors,” Tagawa explained. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostIn the same interview, Cary-Hiroyuki called his mother a “conservative Japanese” who had a “samurai-like” personality and energy.“There were two countries in my family: the army of the United States of America and the Japanese navy. This gap was simply huge. My goal was to unite what was best from both sides of that gap,” he added.In December 2015, after being baptised by the Russian Orthodox Church, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa spoke about his faith and decision to convert with pramvir.com. During the conversation, he also shared not being afraid to die but fearing that he was “not worthy of God’s love.”Fans and industry insiders are now paying him tribute amid his sudden demise.