Masi Oka
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Oka.
| Masi Oka | |
|---|---|
 Oka at the Heroes roadshow in Singapore, August 2007 |
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| Born | Masayori Oka December 27, 1974 Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupation | Actor/Digital effects artist |
| Years active | 1998–present |
Masi Oka (born Masayori Oka (岡 政偉 Oka Masayori); December 27, 1974) is a Japanese American actor, as well as a digital effects artist.
He has performed in numerous films and TV shows, and was cast in the role of Hiro Nakamura in the NBC series Heroes until its cancellation in May 2010. He recently appeared in the film Get Smart and currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
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Early life
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 Los Angeles, California, United States when he was six.[1] At the age of eight, he appeared on CBS-TV game show Child's Play. In 1987, a twelve-year-old Oka was featured on the cover of Time titled "Those Asian-American Whiz Kids".[2] Though he was not featured in the article itself, he was acquainted with the photographer who conducted the shoot.[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. While at Brown, he also served as the musical director of The Bear Necessities, an all-male acappella group. Oka described the group as a "brothership."[4]
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.[5] Oka was also featured in the San Francisco Chronicle with ILM co-worker Anthony Shafer in a pre-dot-com article where he echoed his desire to meld acting and technology.[6] He worked on the Star Wars prequel trilogy.[3]
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.[7] ILM stipulated in his contract that he could work at its Los Angeles branch, but would have to return to their Marin County location 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 ABC comedy Scrubs. He was also featured in a North American commercial for Sega's 2002 PlayStation 2 video game, Shinobi, with the catch phrase 'Shinobi's back!' in front of Sega's 1987 Shinobi arcade cabinet. Oka guest starred in the Yes, Dear episode "Dances with Couch", aired April 8, 2002.
Oka also has a 20-second spot in Austin Powers in Goldmember where he had to say "It looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright laws, it's not".
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;[8] 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 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 and an Emmy Award nomination for best supporting actor in a drama series, the only actor on Heroes to be nominated for both awards.[9] 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.[5] He played 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 The Promotion.
He was named the "Coolest Geek" at the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007.[10] In 2007, he presented an award with Heroes co-star Hayden Panettiere on the 20th annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
Oka will debut as the coroner in CBS' Hawaii Five-0 reboot. [11]
Interests
Oka is fluent in Japanese, English and Spanish. His hobbies include kendo[12] where he carries the rank of shodan,[13] playing video games, watching and writing romantic comedies, playing the piano, beatboxing, 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.[14] In 1988, he placed fourth in the California state MATHCOUNTS competition, and was one of the four students to represent the state of California in the national competition.[15] He has been a guild leader in World of Warcraft, a popular MMORPG video game.[16]
Filmography
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 | 4 episodes 2002-2003 | |
| Scrubs | Franklyn | 5 episodes 2002-2004 | |
| 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 | Arthur | Guest appearance | |
| God Wears My Underwear | Brother Eo | Voice only | |
| Punk'd | Translator | Guest appearance | |
| 2006 | One Sung Hero | KJ | |
| Reba | IRS Agent Phung | Guest appearance | |
| Without a Trace | Wei Fan | Guest appearance | |
| The Loop | Wang | Guest appearance | |
| The Sarah Silverman Program | Clerk | ||
| Heroes | Hiro Nakamura | 2006-2010 | |
| 2007 | Balls of Fury | Jeff, Feng's mens room attendant | |
| Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Himself | Guest appearance | |
| Reno 911! | Foreign Tourist | Guest appearance | |
| Robot Chicken | Japanese Mr. Rogers/ Chachi | Guest appearance | |
| Jane Doe: Ties That Bind | Agent Osaka | ||
| 2008 | Get Smart | Bruce | |
| Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control | Bruce | ||
| The Promotion | Loan Officer | ||
| 2009 | Fired Up | Eagle Mascot | |
| 2010 | Searching for Sonny | Sonny Bosco | |
| 2010 | Get Smart 2 | Bruce |
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 |
As narrator
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Discovery Atlas | Episode "Japan Revealed" |
References
- ↑ Tavis Smiley (2007-04-27). "Masi Oka". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200704/20070427_oka.html. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ↑ Asian-American Whiz Kids. Time. 1987-08-31. http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19870831,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 ""Heroes" Star: Former "Whiz Kid"". TMZ.com. 2006-11-27. http://www.tmz.com/2006/11/27/heroes-star-former-whiz-kid/. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
- ↑ Rapkin, Mickey (2008). Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory, p.11. Penguin Group, London. ISBN 159240376X, 9781592403769.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shen, Maxine (2006-10-15). ""Heroes"". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/seven/10152006/tv/heroes_tv_maxine_shen.htm?page=0. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
- ↑ Raine, George (1998-06-07). "Now Hiring". sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1998/06/07/BUSINESS9847.dtl. Retrieved 1998-06-07.
- ↑ Gaudiosi, John (2006-10-25). "Masi Oka: Coder, Actor, Hero". Wired. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,71984-0.html. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
- ↑ Keveney, Bill (2006-11-09). "'Heroes' star Masi Oka living the dream". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-11-19-hiro-main_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
- ↑ Kuhn, Sarah (2007-02-09). "Airborne at Last!". Back Stage. http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/features/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003544143. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
- ↑ Casey, Jordan; "Spike TV Holds First Annual Guys Choice Awards Show"; allheadlinenews.com; June 11, 2007.
- ↑ "Heroes' Masi Oka to Play Hawaii Five-0 Coroner". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Masi-Oka--Hawaii-Five0-1021822.aspx. Retrieved August 12 , 2010.
- ↑ Greg David (2007-01-18). "There goes my Hiro". TV Guide. http://entertainment1.sympatico.msn.ca/There+goes+my+Hiro/TV_Guide/Interviews/Features/Articles/190107_masiheroes_greg.htm?isfa=1. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
- ↑ Heroes Season 1 dvd, stunt special feature
- ↑ SFX Collection - Special Edition #31: Total Anime, page 15 (UK-based sci-fi magazine)
- ↑ "Masi Oka (star of Heroes) on cover of Time in 1987". 2006-11-21. http://www.elegantprofiles.com/blog/?p=4. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ↑ "Dark Horse Comics: Exclusive Interview with Felicia Day!". 2010-04-21. http://www.facebook.com/notes/dark-horse-comics/exclusive-interview-with-felicia-day/389591754100. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
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
- San Francisco Chronicle Article