Masi Oka: Difference between revisions
m Date/fix the maintenance tags or gen fixes |
Addict 2006 (talk | contribs) →As an actor: disambig |
||
| Line 54: | Line 54: | ||
|rowspan="6" valign="top"| 2002 || ''[[Yes, Dear]]'' || Talking Rock || Guest appearance |
|rowspan="6" valign="top"| 2002 || ''[[Yes, Dear]]'' || Talking Rock || Guest appearance |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| ''[[Sabrina, the Teenage Witch]]'' || Male Council Member || Guest appearance |
| ''[[Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina, the Teenage Witch]]'' || Male Council Member || Guest appearance |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| ''[[Austin Powers in Goldmember]]'' || Japanese Pedestrian || His lines were a disclaimer about Godzilla |
| ''[[Austin Powers in Goldmember]]'' || Japanese Pedestrian || His lines were a disclaimer about Godzilla |
||
Revision as of 04:53, 12 May 2007
Masi Oka | |
|---|---|
| File:Masi Oka, 2006.jpg | |
| Born | Masayori Oka |
Masayori "Masi" Oka (pronounced /masi/) (born December 27, 1974 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Golden-Globe-nominated 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 currently resides in California.
Biography
Born in Tokyo, Japan, Oka's parents divorced when he was one month old. His mother moved to Los Angeles, California, United States when he was six.[1] 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.[2] He has an IQ of 180.[3] Ten years later, he graduated from Brown University.
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. [2]
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. [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. He later created programs for computational fluid dynamics and surface-cracking, which also became used in multiple projects.[5]
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.[5] 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.
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;[6] English subtitles accompany his Japanese dialogue on the show. Many of his co-stars portraying Japanese characters speak with thick American accents. Oka's accent is only slight, though noticeable to any native Japanese speaker. Additionally, Oka's real voice is closer to that of "Future Hiro" than the higher-pitched voice he uses as "Present Hiro."
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 just signed on to play a realtor 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.
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 | His lines were a disclaimer about Godzilla | |
| She Spies | Guy | Guest appearance | |
| The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | Various | Recurring through 2003 | |
| Scrubs | Franklin | 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 | ||
| Get Smarter: Bruce & Lloyd Out of Control | 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 |
- In 2007 he presented an award with Hayden Panettiere on the 20th annual Kids' Choice Awards.
Interests
Oka is fluent in Japanese, English and German and is proficient in Spanish. His hobbies include kendo[8] (he carries the rank of shodan[citation needed]), 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. He is also a die-hard New York Rangers fan. He is often seen at many home games cheering alongside with 'Heroes' co-star and friend Milo Ventimiglia.
References
- ^ Tavis Smiley (2007-04-27). "Masi Oka". PBS. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ a b ""Heroes" Star: Former "Whiz Kid"". TMZ.com. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Stewart, Susan (2006-12-04). "A Surprise TV Star Embraces His Geeky Side". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Shen, Maxine (2006-10-15). ""Heroes"". New York Post. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Gaudiosi, John (2006-10-25). "Masi Oka: Coder, Actor, Hero". Wired. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Keveney, Bill (2006-11-09). "'Heroes' star Masi Oka living the dream". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kuhn, Sarah (2007-02-09). "Airborne at Last!". Back Stage. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Greg David (2007-01-18). "There goes my Hiro". TV Guide. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
External links
- Masi Oka at IMDb
- 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)
- Video of Masi Oka discussing his role on the hit TV series, Heroes, plus making special effects for the movie, Star Wars.