This afternoon I sat in on a conference call with George Takei, who made his Heroes debut as Hiro's father this week. The Star Trek legend kept tight-lipped about upcoming episodes ("I won't reveal too much so that the fans can enjoy their anguished tension," he said), but he did speak about his experience on the set so far.
Some highlights:
- Takei auditioned for the Heroes role. Despite having almost 50 years of acting experience, Takei said he was asked to audition for the part ... in Japanese. He received the script, translated it and obviously aced the challenge. "They wanted to make sure that my command of Japanese was credible," said the California-born actor.
- He and Masi Oka have developed a friendship. Takei says the actors discovered they both speak Spanish and have surprised others on the set by conversing in Spanish -- not Japanese -- when the cameras aren't rolling. He added that he once told Oka, "You guys are the progenitors of Star Trek, because we come two centuries ater you do."
- We'll be seeing more of Mr. Nakamura. Will Takei's character interact with more of the heroes? "Oh, yes!" he says. "We discover I'm more entwined in the intrigue than I originally thought." As for whether we may see a Mrs. Nakamura sometime, Takei joked, "I hope she hasn't died or that I'm not divorced." He did add, however, that Hiro has a "very accomplished" sibling. Hmm.
