| Interview with Heroes' Masi Oka |
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| Written by Carla Thorpe | |
| Monday, October 01 2007 | |
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Holding Out for a Hiro “It’s phenomenal. A lot of career opportunities have opened up but above all I’ve been able to meet a lot of great people.” This is Masi Oka’s description of how being a break-out star on one of television’s hottest new shows has changed his life over the past year. The Japanese-actor seems almost unsurprised by his success, perhaps because his talent and education were serving him well even before he was cast as Hiro Nakamura on NBC’s Heroes.  With the mind of a mathematician and the heart of an artist, success was always on the cards for Masi Oka. Whilst attending Brown University he majored in Computer Science and Mathematics and minored in Theater Arts, with the intention to enter academia. But things took an unexpected turn in when he graduated in 1998 and, in an attempt to figure out his next step, found himself at a Career Fair. “I found this company called LucasFilm and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, I wonder if they have anything to do with Star Wars.’” Of course, a million lightsaber-wielding fanboys could have told him that George & co. were working on the Star Wars prequels, but all Oka knew was that this was the perfect opportunity to make money using his love for computer graphics. Fortunately, he scored a job at ILM and over the next few years, managed to rack up an impressive set of digital effects credits including War of the Worlds, Terminator 3 and all three Star Wars prequels. He simultaneously pursued his passion for acting and began to land guest spots on shows like Reno 911! and Scrubs.  The self-proclaimed “workaholic” reached another turning point in 2006 when his agent suggested he audition for a new TV pilot called Heroes. “It was a four-round audition and I wanted to make it as authentic as possible…so I translated the script and did all my auditions in Japanese.” Soon afterwards, he stepped onto the Heroes set as Hiro Nakamura, the comic book geek who discovers that he can manipulate time/space and who embodies the heart, spirit and comic relief of the ensemble superhero drama. “He’s such a unique character, full of optimism and hope,” says Oka, “And there’s a lot of myself in Hiro. When I was a kid I dreamed of being Superman. So I was able to vicariously live my childhood dream through Hiro.” As it turned out, a lot of people wanted to live their childhood dreams through the heroes and the show became an instant hit amongst fans and critics alike. “After the premiere we definitely felt some buzz and knew we had something special.”  As the season continued it picked up even more momentum, with "Save the cheerleader. Save the world." becoming the pop culture ref du jour and many people declaring that Heroes was the new Lost (although Oka admits he “loved the Lost finale”). Needless to say, Oka and his co-stars became hot property and the job offers started rolling in. As a “big The Office geek”, Oka was thrilled to spend his summer working with Steve Carell on the highly anticipated 2008 flick, Get Smart. “I knew I’d made it when I was able to make Steve Carell and Alan Arkin crack up and ruin their takes.” Things got even better in July when Oka received an early wake-up call telling him that he’d received an Emmy nod for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. “In the first year, for our show to be nominated and recognized, it’s a great feeling.”  It’s also got to put a lot of pressure on going into the second year. Currently shooting the fifth episode, Oka calmly claims that, “We’re just loving it and hoping that the audience enjoys the new stories as much as they did last year.” Of course, the question on every avid fan’s mind is ‘What happens next?’ All Oka will offer is that, “The first season was about ordinary people discovering their extraordinary abilities. The second season is about ordinary people with extraordinary abilities trying to regain their ordinary lives.” But steering clear of Spoilerville, what would he personally like to see in Season Two? “I don’t want Hiro to lose his kid-like quality and what makes him endearing.” Ironically, the kid-like Hiro in him shines through when he grins, “I would like to see maybe a little bit more sword-fighting too.” With all his success, you might think Masi Oka shares his character’s ability to time-travel. But sometimes sheer talent and determination can be superpowers of their own. ”I want to do everything. I want to be a creator and inspire other artists to create,” he explains, “There’s so much chaos in the world, it’s nice to have some hope. For me love and laughter are the universal themes and I want to continue creating content that embodies those themes.” Comments
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Yata!
written by Alien Imposter , October 01, 2007
I did it! He represents the slice em and dice em part of Hero's. Well i hope thats how it plays out, some kind of Kill Bill style mixed with telaportation, would like to see him use a gun though, bloody slow death mess with a sword (very inhuman
 ) His character represents the most complex power in Hero's. He is the only character to have done everything he does once before. He also represents the philosophy in the movie that your fate is set in stone. |
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