News

What's Next for Hiro and Ando?


Now that Hiro and Ando have dug up their long-time nemesis, Adam Monroe, what do future Heroes episodes have in store for this duo?

Kristin from E! Online went to the ideal sources for such a question: Masi Oka and James Kyson Lee. Here are highlights of what they had to say:

Is Ando really a villain? "If I zapped him, it's probably for a good reason. But we don't know if he's turned bad, or if I've turned bad, or if he's betrayed me," Lee said of the season premiere scene that saw Ando zapping Hiro to death.

Could Hiro become a villain? We never thought it would be possible, but Masi Oka says Hiro Nakamura could one day become evil. "I don't know if it will happen, I don't know if it has happened, but I do think it needs to go there eventually."

How will Ando acquire his abilities? "We learn this season that in order for people to obtain abilities, there has to be a combination of factors - both physical and environmental elements," Lee said. "We think the eclipse might have to do with it. Maybe the formula we are trying to find is closely linked to it, and of course Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is trying to do experiments to find out, but he's not finding the answers either."

Maybe the formula we are trying to find is closely linked to it, and of course Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is trying to do experiments to find out, but he's not finding the answers either."


A Q&A Session with Masi Oka


In a recent interview, conducted prior to season three, Masi Oka promised an exciting season for Hiro and company.

He obviously wasn't kidding.

Here are a few highlights from the feature:

On critical reaction to season two: Every critic is different and people look for different things. So I don’t know if the critics are bashing for the sake of bashing it, but maybe it’s just like a continued - well continuing (stealing the hat) from Season 2. So I’m hoping that, you know, as the episodes progress that they could just go back to what made Heroes great with Season 1 and where Season 3 is headed towards, and then go back to seeing it as, you know, pure entertainment for the whole family.



On Hiro and Daphne: I’m very excited. We’re already shooting Episode 12 and there’s a lot of great shocks and, you know, twists and turns. With Hiro and Daphne, you know, Daphne is kind of like the quintessential nemesis for Hiro. As Batman gets his Joker, Hiro gets Daphne. That said, I see it more like a Wile E. Coyote and a Road Runner scenario except she said more than meep-meep and not as many Acme gadgets although you will see Hiro fall on his face a lot.

On Hiro and Ando: I think the writers wanted to introduce a little bit of a different dynamic between Hiro and Ando just to start things off. We will see them back to get their original selves, hopefully very soon. But I think everyone is kind of like - because this is a season called Villains, or the volume is called Villains, we wanted to kind of put in seeds of doubt in terms of every relationship we’ve had and kind of shake up the status quo.



Masi Oka Previews Season Three


After reading about the villains set to infiltrate Heroes this season, let's hear from one of the men set on stopping them.

In the following video, Masi Oka previews the upcoming chapter, mostly focusing on Hiro's new nemesis, played by actress Brea Grant. Take a look and a listen:



Heroes Spoilers: Japanese Edition!
Posted on September 15th, 2008 1:58 PM by A. Hiro
Filed under: Masi Oka, Heroes Spoilers
We've reported on a number of Heroes spoilers for season three.

Future Peter likely shot Nathan; Sylar sucks Claire's brains out; and he has a son.

Below, though, you have a chance to make up our own spoilers!

E! ran into Masi Oka at the Heroes premiere party last week and asked him to go over a few key plot points for season three... in Japanese! We have no idea what the actor is saying, but it's fun to make it up as he goes along.


Milo Ventimiglia and Masi Oka Head Down Under
Posted on September 3rd, 2008 2:32 PM by A. Hiro
Filed under: Milo Ventimiglia, Masi Oka
Last week, Milo Ventimiglia and Masi Oka proved once again why it's pretty cool to have super powers. Or at least portray characters that have super powers.

The actors spent time with fans in Sydney, Australia, promoting the second season DVD of Heroes. Follow this article's jump now to see pics of Milo and Masi in action...

Continue Reading...

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Masi Oka Talks Villains, Hiro
Posted on July 24th, 2008 2:01 PM by A. Hiro
Filed under: Masi Oka
According to Masi Oka, chapter three of Heroes - titled "Villains" - won't just be showcasing your basic evil character.

Everyone on the series will show a dark side.

"I think that you'll see a dark side of everybody, because being a hero or villain is very subjective," Oka said in an interview at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour. "Each human being has the ability to become a hero or a villain. It's the choices that we make every day, and that can be influenced by the things around us."



On the upcoming season, Oka's Hiro will be faced with a new personal enemy: Daphne, aka "Speedster," played by Brea Grant.

"She's Hiro's nemesis," Oka said. "And every time Hiro sees her, he calls her his nemesis. And she's great. She's very spunky. She's a speedster. It's kind of like Batman has his Joker; Hiro has his Daphne."

The actor added:

"Brea's fantastic. She came from Friday Night Lights. She's such a joy to work with. We had a chemistry test, and I loved working with her, and we have so much fun working together. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it as well."

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Masi Oka Cheers on the Knicks
Posted on December 10th, 2007 9:54 AM by A. Hiro
Filed under: Masi Oka
Masi Oka - seated alongside actor Sean William Scott - is either having a great time at a recent New York Knicks game... or he's laughing at the horrific on-court play of this once proud franchise.

With no new Heroes episodes currently scheduled, the actor (sadly) finds himself with loads of free time.




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Masi Oka Named a Global Ambassador
Posted on November 1st, 2007 2:41 PM by A. Hiro
Filed under: Masi Oka
Masi Oka has been named global ambassador for One Laptop per Child (OLPC).

It's a non-profit organization launched in 2005 with a mission of providing a means for learning, self-expression and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education.

"Being a part of a global effort that is enabling children to learn, grow and succeed in life is both tremendously gratifying and important to me," said Oka. "I'm very excited about this opportunity to represent One Laptop per Child and bring my love of technology and education to the global community.

I believe that it is incredibly important to enable access to learning for all children so that every child has the opportunity to create a better life for themselves, their family and their society."

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An Interview with Masi Oka
Posted on October 3rd, 2007 7:06 AM by A. Hiro
Filed under: Masi Oka
Masi Oka certainly has no shame about being labeled a geek.

He discussed this and other issues during a recent interview with Radar Online. Here are a few highlights from the talk:

Q: Do you think that, thanks to you, geeks around the world now have an easier time of getting laid?
A: I think I can probably help give people confidence and help them be more open about expressing who they are. But I'm bad with women.

Q: Oh come on...
A: No, I'm pretty bad. But Heroes definitely helped me improve my social skills, and helped me not get rejected so much.




Q: Your character in Heroes, Hiro Nakamura, is the comic relief of a mostly dark show. He takes his superhero responsibilities seriously and has a clear vision of what's good and bad. Do you see morality in those black-and-white terms?
A: There are things that are black and white for me, but I'm always open to the possibility of looking at it from another person's point of view. What might be right for you may not be right for some. Oh God, I'm about to sing the Different Strokes song! [singing] A man is born, he's a man of means. What am I doing? I must be really tired.

But you know, it's the people who think differently that change the world. Even the villains, in their mind they were doing something right. In no way am I advocating Hitler, but he changed the world. For the worse, but in his mind he was changing it for the good. And I absolutely do not agree with what he did, but I'm open to the idea that there are thoughts out there like his.

Click here to read the full interview.

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Masi Oka Pictures, Interview
Posted on September 29th, 2007 12:31 PM by A. Hiro
Filed under: Masi Oka
Masi Oka is hilarious.

The Heroes actor was recently featured in the magazine Geek Monthly - and he takes pride in being labeled a geek or a nerd.

"A geek is someone who is passionate about something," he said in a long interview that you can read now. "It can be about anything. It can be about musicals. It can be about computers. It can be about our show. And you can be passionate about more than one thing. I would rather be passionate about something than apathetic about everything. To be Geek is to be human."

So profound.

Meanwhile, check out the following Masi Oka photos from the article. We dare you not to laugh as you look at each one...

References

References


^ Tavis Smiley (2007-04-27). "Masi Oka". PBS. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
^ Asian-American Whiz Kids, Time, 1987-08-31, http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19870831,00.html, retrieved on 17 December 2008
^ a b ""Heroes" Star: Former "Whiz Kid"". TMZ.com (2006-11-27). Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
^ a b Shen, Maxine (2006-10-15). ""Heroes"". New York Post. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
^ "Now Hiring". sfgate.com. Retrieved on 1998-06-07.
^ 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)
^ "Masi Oka (star of Heroes) on cover of Time in 1987" (2006-11-21). Retrieved on 2008-11-11.

Filmography

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-present
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 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


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"

Biography

Biography

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 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. Masi also stated in an interiew that he has the IQ of 189.

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] 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.[5] His first major project was co-developing a computer program to generate water effects, which was first used for The 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.[6] He also 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.[6] 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 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;[7] 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. [8] 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 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.[9] 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 in Goldmember when he states that "Due to international copyright laws it, in fact, is not. [Godzilla]".


Interests
Oka is fluent in Japanese, English and Spanish. His hobbies include kendo[10] where he carries the rank of shodan,[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

Bio

In this Japanese name, the family name is Oka.
Masi Oka

Oka at the Heroes roadshow in Singapore, August 2007
Born Masayori Oka
December 27, 1974 (1974-12-27) (age 34)
Tokyo, Japan
Other name(s) Masi Oka
Years active 1998 - present
[show]Awards won
Other awards
Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in a TV show
2007 Heroes

Masi Oka (born Masayori Oka (岡 政偉, Oka Masayori?), December 27, 1974) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-nominated Japanese American actor and a 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 recently appeared in the film Get Smart, which was released on June 20, 2008. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Contents [hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Early life
1.2 Acting career
1.3 Interests
2 Filmography
2.1 As an actor
2.2 As a digital effects artist
2.3 As narrator
3 References
4 External links