Biographies: Masi Oka - Actor

Biographies

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Masi Oka is a Japanese-American actor and digital effects artist best known for playing the time-traveling Hiro Nakamuro on NBC's "Heroes." He was born in Tokyo, Japan, on December 27, 1974; his parents split up when he was young and he never met his father. At age 6, he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, where two years later he would appear on CBS's game show "Child's Play." Soon after he was featured on the cover under the title "Those Asian-American Whiz Kids," though he was only featured because he knew the photographer on the shoot. He graduated from Harvard-Westlake High School in 1992, then Brown University in 1997 with a degree in mathematics and computer science. Also at Brown, he was the musical director of "The Bear Necessities," an all-male a capella group. He then got a job with George Lucas' company, Industrial Light & Magic; he worked on the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy. Hoping to break into acting, Oka soon earned a few guest spots on "Scrubs" and then "Austin Powers in Goldmember" in 2002. He then earned his role on "Heroes," for which he would become famous. Strengthened by his fluency in English, Japanese and Spanish and previous work as a translator, Oka translated his lines in the show from Japanese to English. He was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his role on the show, making him the only "Heroes" actor to be nominated for both awards. Following "Heroes," he's appeared in films "Get Smart," "The Promotion," "Friends With Benefits," and a starring role on CBS's "Hawaii Five-0."

• 1 October 2013
• Ines Farag