Underneath the neon lights of 2025, the Asian film world lost some of its brightest stars — and you probably felt it. Their careers spanned decades — from gritty martial-arts villains to tender heartbreak in dramas, from sitcom stages in Seoul to street fights in Hollywood. Their voices, faces, performances handled grief, joy, rage, nuance. When the screen fades, their work doesn’t. Here is a list of Asian actors who died in 2025.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa – 4 December 2025
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, 75, passed away on December 4 in Santa Barbara from stroke complications, surrounded by family. You probably first met him as the power-stealing sorcerer Shang Tsung in 1995’s Mortal Kombat, which raked in over $100 million on a $20M budget. “You couldn’t sit still when you heard the music,” he once said about director Paul W.S. Anderson’s approach. From The Last Emperor to Tekken and Star Wars: Visions, he always made villains fun to root for.
Tatsuya Nakadai – 8 November 2025
Tatsuya Nakadai, who packed more than 100 roles into seven decades, died at 92 in Tokyo from pneumonia. You know him as the terrifying Hidetora in Ran and the guy who took a sword to the torso in Yojimbo’s wild finale. He turned down studio contracts so he could bounce from Kurosawa to Kobayashi, starring in Harakiri, Kagemusha and The Human Condition.
Patrick Adiarte – 15 April 2025
Patrick Adiarte packed more into 82 years than most actors dream about. Born in Manila on Aug. 2, 1942, he survived imprisonment on Cebu during World War II, then — with a little help from Senator John F. Kennedy — landed in The King and I. Yul Brynner became a father figure. Gene Kelly once said, “If there’s gonna be another Fred Astaire, I think it might as well be Pat.” Not bad for a guy who once gave the Brady kids a tour in Honolulu.
Lobsang Chompel – 10 October 2025
Tibetan star Lobsang Chompel, who grabbed the Golden Horse Award in 1998 for Xiuxiu: The Sent-Down Girl, died in Lhasa on October 10 at 68. China banned the film thanks to politics and Joan Chen shooting it “underground.” She once joked, “I was very stubborn then.” Chompel grew up poor in Sangri County, hustled his way into Shanghai Theatre Academy, and owned roles like Snow Leopard. Tibet Theatre said, “The curtain may have fallen, but his art and soul will forever shine.”
Pankaj Dheer – 15 October 2025
Pankaj Dheer, 68, fought cancer head-on and kept working like a champ. You probably remember him as Karna from Mahabharat, the guy everyone secretly rooted for. His co-star Nitish Bharadwaj wrote, “Team Mahabharat has lost yet another jewel.” Hema Malini called him a “very dear friend” who stayed “so full of life.” Stars like Salman Khan showed up at his funeral. You can’t fake that kind of love in this industry.
Manoj Kumar – 4 April 2025
Manoj Kumar, born Harikrishan Goswami in 1937, passed away in Mumbai at 87 after “age-related health issues,” said Dr Santosh Shetty. You probably know him as Bharat Kumar, the man who made patriotism cool with hits like Shaheed and Roti Kapada Aur Makaan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him an “icon of Indian cinema.” Akshay Kumar admits those movies boosted his national pride. Revisit one today. Celebrate the legacy.
Tong Kai – 23 June 2025
Tong Gai, the legendary fight choreographer behind Shaolin Prince and Opium And The Kung-Fu Master, died at 88. HK01 reported he fell from a building on Austin Road on June 23. Tong, a regular collaborator with Chang Cheh in the 60s, married Suet Nay in 1969 after meeting on The Legend Of Wonder Lady. Two sons, decades of iconic action, and a career fans won’t forget.
Ku Feng – 27 March 2025
Ku Feng, born Chan Sze-man in 1929, built a monster career from 1959 to 2013 with over 100 Shaw Brothers films and TVB hits like The Duke Of The Mount Deer and Healing Hands. He died on March 27 at 94. Actor Barry Wai, 78, cried on Douyin: “I’m still grateful to this day. Uncle Ku is gone now.” Philip Keung, 58, remembered Ku’s guidance. You don’t forget people like that.
Stanley Fung – 31 October 2025
Stanley Fung, born in 1944, built a wild career from Hong Kong comedies to Taiwan TV before passing away Friday at 81. He joked with fruity swear words in The Crazy Companies and popped up alongside Jackie Chan in the Lucky Stars movies. Two days before his death, he wrote a goodbye to Benz Hui, admitting he was “terminally ill” and telling his friend to wait for him. Proudly, he once said he was “a Chinese man of the ROC.”
Benz Hui – 28 October 2025
Benz Hui Shiu-hung, the 76-year-old “King of Supporting Actors,” died on Tuesday in Hong Kong after cancer complications. You’ve seen him: hardened cops, grouchy uncles, triad bosses like “Brother Foon-hei.” He racked up 200 roles since the 1970s, often arriving in his Mercedes, which gifted him the nickname “Benz Hui.” He once joked, “I am both a dead branch and a beggar,” though Shu Qi wrote, “May you have a peaceful journey.” He is survived by his wife and daughter.
Sunny Fang – 30 May 2025
Sunny, the actor everyone called Fong Kong, died on May 30 at 78. He kicked off his career in 1968 and terrified TVs everywhere as “Cheng Sai-fung” in the 1997 TVB hit The Challenge of Life. That performance alone made you double-check the locks. Then he tapped out of Hong Kong fame in the ’90s and slipped into a quieter life in mainland China. No cameras.
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