Masi Oka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Masi Oka | |
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| Birth name | Masayori Oka |
| Born | December 27, 1974 (age 32) Tokyo, Japan |
| Notable roles | Hiro Nakamura in Heroes |
Masayori "Masi" Oka (pronounced /masi/) (born December 27, 1974 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Golden-Globe-nominated Japanese-American actor and digital effects artist. He has performed in many films and TV shows, and is currently cast in the role of Hiro Nakamura in the NBC series Heroes. He has recently finished filming his new movie Balls of Fury, which is scheduled to be released in 2007. He was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Los Angeles, California, United States at the age of six. He currently resides in California.
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[edit] Biography
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and mathematics from Brown University in 1997 and also worked at George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic as a programmer working on many top-grossing Hollywood movies such as the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Pirates of the Caribbean series. [1]
[edit] Interests
Oka is fluent in Japanese, English and German and is proficient in Spanish. His hobbies include kendo (Japanese fencing), playing video games, watching and writing romantic comedies, playing the piano, and singing. He avidly collects comic books and manga. He attended elementary school at Mirman School and graduated high school from Harvard-Westlake School in 1992. He has stated in an interview on G4tv that he has played World of Warcraft extensively and ran a guild in the past on the Spinebreaker realm.
[edit] Early Life
In 1987, a 12-year-old Oka was featured on the cover of Time Magazine titled "Those Asian-American Whiz Kids". Though he was not featured in the article itself, he knew the photographer who took the shot.[1] He has an IQ of 180.[2] Ten years later, he graduated from Brown University.
[edit] Career
Oka landed his first job after graduation at the San Francisco, California branch of Industrial Light & Magic, George Lucas's motion picture visual special effects company, with the hope of one day earning an Oscar for technical work on a motion picture. [3] His first major project was co-developing a computer program to generate water effects, which was first used for A Perfect Storm but also used in later films such as Pirates of the Caribbean. He later created programs for computational fluid dynamics and surface-cracking, which also became used in multiple projects.[4]
He first tried his hand at acting in 2000. He earned a Screen Actors Guild card by appearing in industry films, then moved to Los Angeles.[4] ILM stipulated in his contract that he could work at its Los Angeles branch, but would have to return to San Francisco if he did not get cast for a recurring role that season. Oka did get cast for a pilot. Although the show was not picked up, it did satisfy the contract's requirements and he was allowed to stay in Los Angeles. He decided to continue pursuing acting. He landed several guest spots and then a recurring role as Franklin on the NBC comedy Scrubs (TV series).
In 2006, Oka was cast for the role of Hiro Nakamura in Heroes. Oka translates his dialogue from the show scripts from English to Japanese;[5] English subtitles accompany his Japanese dialogue on the show. His portrayal of the role earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination that year in the "Best Supporting Actor on a TV Series" category. [6] In addition to his work on the show, he continues to work at ILM up to three days a week as a Research and Development Technical Director, writing programs that create special effects.[3]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] As an actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Dharma & Greg | Nien-Jen | Guest appearance |
| Citizen Baines | Staffer Dan | Guest appearance | |
| Gilmore Girls | Philosophy Student | Guest appearance | |
| 2002 | Yes, Dear | Talking Rock | Guest appearance |
| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Male Council Member | Guest appearance | |
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | Japanese Pedestrian | ||
| She Spies | Guy | Guest appearance | |
| The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | Various | Recurring through 2003 | |
| Scrubs | Franklyn | Recurring through 2004 | |
| 2003 | On the Spot | Japanese Tourist | Guest appearance |
| Uh-Oh! | Asian Man | ||
| Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | Congressional Intern | Uncredited | |
| Luis | Deng Wu | ||
| 2004 | Along Came Polly | Wonsuk | |
| Still Standing | Ronald | Guest appearance | |
| All of Us | Edwin | Guest appearance | |
| 2005 | Less Than Perfect | Hideki | Guest appearance |
| Reno 911! | Translator | Guest appearance | |
| The Proud Family Movie | Japanese Kid/Announcer | Voice only | |
| House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim | Stanley Tong | ||
| Joey S02E17 | Arthur | Guest appearance | |
| God Wears My Underwear | Brother Eo | Voice only | |
| Punk'd | Translator | Guest appearance | |
| 2006 | One Sung Hero | KJ | |
| Reba | Agent Phung | Guest appearance | |
| Without a Trace | Wei Fan | Guest appearance | |
| The Loop | Wang | Guest appearance | |
| The Sarah Silverman Program Pilot | Clerk | ||
| Heroes | Hiro Nakamura | ||
| The Megan Mullally Show | Himself | Guest appearance | |
| Late Night With Conan O'Brien | Himself | Guest Appearance | |
| 2007 | Balls of Fury | Jeff | Completed |
| The Tonight Show | Himself | Guest Appearance | |
| Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Himself | Guest Appearance | |
| 21 | Pre-Production |
[edit] As a digital effects artist
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Mighty Joe Young | CG technical assistant: Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) |
| 1999 | Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace | visual effects production and technical support: ILM |
| 2000 | The Perfect Storm | digital artist: ILM |
| 2002 | Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | digital effects artist: ILM |
| 2003 | Hulk | technical director: ILM |
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | CG artist: ILM | |
| 2005 | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | digital artist: ILM |
| War of the Worlds | digital artist: ILM | |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | digital artist: ILM |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Heroes" Star: Former "Whiz Kid". TMZ.com (2006-11-27). Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ Stewart, Susan (2006-12-04). A Surprise TV Star Embraces His Geeky Side. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ a b Shen, Maxine (2006-10-15). "Heroes". New York Post. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ a b Gaudiosi, John (2006-10-25). Masi Oka: Coder, Actor, Hero. Wired. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ Keveney, Bill (2006-11-09). 'Heroes' star Masi Oka living the dream. USA Today. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ Kuhn, Sarah (2007-02-09). Airborne at Last!. Back Stage. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
[edit] External links
- Masi Oka at the Internet Movie Database
- LA Times Article
- Brown University "From Special Effects to Acting, CS Alum Masi Oka is One of the 'Heroes'"
- Brown Daily Herald by Alissa Cerny 9/18/06 "Brown alum snags big role in NBC series 'Heroes'"
- Time magazine cover - August 31, 1987 (Masi Oka is to the furthest left)
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Oka, Masi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Oka, Masayori (birth name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Japanese American actor, digital effects programmer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 27, 1974 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tokyo, Japan |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
