Masi Oka
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- In this Japanese name, the family name is Oka.
| Masi Oka | |||||||
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 Oka at the Heroes roadshow in Singapore, August 2007 |
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| Born | Masayori Oka December 27, 1974 Tokyo, Japan |
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| Other name(s) | Masayori Oka | ||||||
| Years active | 1998 - present | ||||||
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Masi Oka (マシ・オカ Mashi Oka?) (born Masayori Oka (岡 政偉 Oka Masayori?), December 27, 1974) is an 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 a role in Get Smart, which is scheduled to be released in 2008. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe and Emmy Award. He currently resides in Long Island, New York.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Masi Oka was born in Tokyo, Japan. His parents divorced when he was one month old; he was raised in a single parent family and has never met his father. His mother moved to Queens, New York, United States when he was six.[1] At age 8, he appeared on CBS-TV game show Child's Play. 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 was acquainted with the photographer who conducted the shoot.[2] His IQ had been measured at a score of 180.[3] He attended elementary school at The Mirman School and graduated high school from Harvard-Westlake School in 1992. He graduated from Brown University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and mathematics.
Oka landed his first job after graduation at 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.[4] 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: Dead Man's Chest. He later created programs for computational fluid dynamics and surface-cracking, which have been used in multiple projects.[5] He also worked on the Star Wars prequel trilogy.[2]
[edit] Acting career
Oka 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.[5] ILM stipulated in his contract that he could work at its Los Angeles branch, but would have to return to Marin 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 Franklyn on the NBC comedy Scrubs. He was also featured in a PS2's Shinobi commercial, with the catch phrase 'Shinobi's Back'. Oka guest starred in the Yes, Dear episode Dances with Couch, aired April 8, 2002.
In 2006, Oka was cast for the role of Hiro Nakamura in Heroes. Oka translates his dialogue from the show's scripts from English to Japanese;[6] English subtitles accompany his Japanese dialogue on the show. Additionally, Oka's real voice is closer to that of "Future Hiro" than the higher-pitched voice he uses as "Present Hiro" as heard during his appearances on television shows like Heroes.
His portrayal of the role earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination that year in the "Best Supporting Actor on a TV Series" category. [7] 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.[4] He will play the role of Bruce in the big screen version of Get Smart.
He recently signed on to play a real estate broker who is trying to sell to Sean William Scott's character in Steve Conrad's Quebec. The film was originally slated to hit theatres in May 2007, but new scenes and characters have been added.
He was named the "Coolest Geek" at the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007.[8] In 2007, he presented an award with Heroes co-star Hayden Panettiere on the 20th annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
Oka has a 20 second spot in Austin Powers Goldmember when he states that 'Due to international copyright laws it, in fact, is not. [Godzilla]'
[edit] Interests
Oka is fluent in Japanese, English and Spanish. His hobbies include kendo[9] where he carries the rank of shodan,[10] playing video games, watching and writing romantic comedies, playing the piano, and singing. He avidly collects manga; his current favorites include Eyeshield 21, One Piece and PLUTO, and he professes to be a big fan of Naoki Urasawa's other works.[11]
[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 | His lines were a disclaimer about Godzilla | |
| 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 | Donald | 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 | 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 | Clerk | ||
| Heroes | Hiro Nakamura | Present | |
| 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 | |
| The Ellen Degeneres Show | Himself | Guest Appearance | |
| Reno 911! | Foreign Tourist | Guest Appearance | |
| Robot Chicken | Mr. Rogers | Guest Appearance | |
| 2008 | 21 | [citation needed] | |
| Get Smart | Bruce | ||
| Rachael Ray (TV series) | Himself | Guest Appearance | |
| cartoon KAT-TUN | Himself | Guest Appearance | |
| Downtown DX | Himself | Guest Appearance | |
| Eigo de Shabera Night | Himself | Guest Appearance |
[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
- ^ Tavis Smiley (2007-04-27). Masi Oka. PBS. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Casey, Jordan; "Spike TV Holds First Annual Guys Choice Awards Show"; allheadlinenews.com; June 11, 2007.
- ^ Greg David (2007-01-18). There goes my Hiro. TV Guide. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
- ^ Heroes Season 1 dvd, stunt special feature
- ^ SFX Collection - Special Edition #31: Total Anime, page 15 (UK-based sci-fi magazine)
[edit] External links
- Masi Oka at the Internet Movie Database
- Daily Telegraph Article
- NY 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 farthest left)
- Video of Masi Oka discussing his role on the hit TV series, Heroes, plus making special effects for the movie, Star Wars.
- Nichi Bei Times Interview
| 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 | |
