|
|
 |
Q&A with George Takei - Radio Times, October 2007 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Bryony Weaver finds out how Star Trek's Mr Sulu has taken his career into new dimensions.
BW: What drew you to the role of
Kaito Nakamura in Heroes?
GT: A fan emailed that there was a new
show with a fun, nerdy Japanese
Star Trek fan in it. I checked it out
and got hooked. When my agent
called to say the producers of Heroes
were interested in me, I whooped!
Now, I'm the powerful, mysterious
father of the fun Star Trek fan [Hiro].
Have you suggested
any Star Trek content
for Heroes?
The props master,
James Clark, thought
of the licence plate
for Mr Nakamura's
limousine - NCC 1701
(the registration
number of the Starship
Enterprise). And the
writers remembered my
fencing scene from [1966]
Star Trek episode The
Naked Time and wrote
in the scene where I give
Hiro a sword-fighting
lesson.
As a boy, your family was
interned for three years in camps
in Arkansas and California.
How did it affect you?
Americans of Japanese ancestry were
imprisoned in American internment
camps during the Second World War
because we looked like the people
who'd bombed Pearl Harbor. It was
an egregious violation of our
constitution. There were no charges,
no trial, no due process.
I'll never
forget the day when US soldiers with
bayoneted rifles came to the door of
our LA home to order my family out.
It's shaped my life indelibly. I'm
a political activist because I know
how great American democracy
can be, but also how fragile it is
when good people are inattentive.
You've become a regular on
The Howard Stern Show. What
got you into US shock-jock radio?
Howard has the guts to stand up to
the Bush administration, when
freedom of speech is being hacked
away. And he gives me access to an
audience who haven't thought very
deeply about issues relevant to gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
[GLBT] people.
I can personalise my
relationship with Brad [Altman, his
partner]. I've had emails from people
identifying themselves as straight,
married and conservative who, after
hearing me chat about GLBT issues,
say they'd be supportive of them.
Why did you decide to come out
publicly in 2005?
Brad and I had been "out" for
decades. Our names appear together
on theatre seats, fund-raising dinner
programmes…but I'd not talked to
the press - that's a different ball game.
However, in 2005, both houses of the
California state legislature passed
a same-sex marriage bill. All it needed
to become law was Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger's signature.
When he
vetoed it, Brad and I discussed what
we might be bringing upon ourselves,
but agreed I had to do it. I talked to
the press for the first time about being
gay, and it became my "coming out"
interview. My career's flourished
ever since then.
One final question:
from biographies of
several of the Star
Trek cast, it seems
William Shatner was
difficult to work with.
Would you agree?
Bill is a complex guy -
charming, witty, and
a talented actor. A good
actor knows that a scene
works best when he's
engaged with the other
actors. Bill's approach
seemed to be that
every scene revolved
around him. But
then, he was the star,
and we were only the
planets that revolved
around the star…
**
Now take a look at our full Heroes guide.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Advertiser link |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| EMAIL A FRIEND |
|
| Want to share this page with a friend? It's quick and easy! |
| Email a friend |
|
|
|
|
|
