James Yaegashi (born October 10, 1972) is a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

actor based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early life

James Yaegashi was born in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

and raised in Yamagata to an American mother and a Japanese father. Upon graduating high school, he moved to America and majored in acting and directing at

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

. He moved to New York with his wife in 1998.

Career

He has acted in various stage productions, including as Mr. Yunioshi in a stage production of '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''; a role that had historically been played in yellowface. Of the character Yaegashi said "He’s a real character, for starters. The film...made so many changes to the story...Yunioshi is a Nisei, a Japanese American from California. In the movie, Mickey Rooney played him as if he was fresh off the boat." He ultimately felt it was necessary to play the character to portray ethnic characters in a positive light. Yaegashi first entered the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

with a minor role in '' Daredevil'', but had a more notable role when he was cast as Robert Minoru in the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

original series '' Runaways'' based on the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

series. In 2004, he voiced the Chinese Triad leader, Wu Zi Mu, in the 2004 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''. He later also voiced an undercover police officer called Charlie in ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's ''Grand Theft Auto: San And ...

'' and the expansion pack '' Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned''.

Personal life

James Yaegashi is married with two children. He is also bilingual.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yaegashi, James American male actors of Japanese descent Male voice actors from Yokohama Japanese emigrants to the United States Year of birth missing (living people) University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors Japanese male video game actors Japanese male voice actors Japanese people of American descent 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors