Masi Oka News (Page 4)

Masi Oka recently spoke with TV Guide in Canada.

He arrived at Global's fall launch event after a red-eye flight, along with fellow Heroes star Adrian Pasdar. Check out the interview below:

TV Guide: Congratulations on the success of Heroes. Contrary to what some of the other media said, I really enjoyed the season finale. What did you think of it?
Masi Oka: I loved it. I liked the way that the final five or so episodes all came together in the finale. But it was also weird, because we shot a lot and the editors ended up cutting out a lot of stuff – those will be on the extended scenes on the DVD – and some scenes looked a little rough. Other than that, I thought it was a fantastic ending. Every storyline had a beginning, middle and end. And then the very end starts into the next season.

TVG: You mentioned the DVDs. Will you be doing commentary on them?
MO: We did the commentary as we went along. The day after the episode aired we would go in and do the commentary tracks.

TVG: Was that fun to do?
MO: It's pretty cool. I only did one commentary, and it was with Matthew Armstrong [Ted Sprague] and George Takei. It was more riffing. George would say things like [takes on George Takei's deep voice], ‘That color is… peach. Why would anyone choose to use the color peach?' And then Matthew would argue that the color wasn't peach… and we weren't even talking about what was happening in the episode anymore. But it was really fun.

TVG: I know you guys haven't seen any scripts yet, but do you have any inkling as to what's in store for Hiro in Season 2?
MO: I have an idea of what most of the characters are doing, but those tend to change. It's funny, I find out more stuff about my character on the Internet than from the writers. My friends send me the stuff that they find.

TVG: Is it weird to get information about your character from that source?
MO: Yeah, it is. Sometimes it's rumours that were based on fact, and sometimes it's because the writer has a relationship with a producer. We don't see the producers every day because they don't visit the set every day when we're shooting. It's not like I can walk up to them and say, ‘Hey guys, how's it going? Got any scoop for me?'

TVG: One of the rumors is that the cast will take on an international flavor – can you confirm that?
MO: Oh yeah. One of the heroes will be traveling a lot this upcoming season – maybe like an Indiana Jones-type, that goes around the world.

TVG: If you – Masi Oka – could adopt a superpower that one of the characters on Heroes has, which would it be?
MO: Flying is always fun. The idea of having a cape, and being able to fly around would be cool.

The official Emmy Award nominations don't come out until July 19.

But there's been a leak!

TheEnvelope.com has apparently managed to track down the Academy's top 10 choices worthy of Emmy nomination in a few categories. These are unconfirmed, but should make fans of Heroes excited:

Drama Series/Episode being screened
Boston Legal/"Angel of Death"
Dexter/"Born Free"
Friday Night Lights/"Pilot"
Grey's Anatomy/"From a Whisper to a Scream"
Heroes/"Genesis"
House/"Half-Wit"
Lost/"Through the Looking Glass"
Rome/"De Patre Vostro"

Drama - Supporting Actor
Masi Oka/Heroes

We hope these come true. Meanwhile, we know for a fact that certain actors, such as Zachary Quinto, have been nominated for Teen Choice Awards.

On August 26, FOX will air the Teen Choice Awards.

And young fans of Heroes will have plenty of chances to vote for their favorite show and cast members. Here are the categories within which various actors are up for awards:

Drama series: "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes," "House," "Lost," "Kyle XY."

Dramatic actor: Hugh Laurie of "House," Jared Padalecki of "Supernatural," Matthew Fox of "Lost," Milo Ventimiglia of "Heroes," Wentworth Miller of "Prison Break."

Dramatic actress: Emily Deschanel of "Bones," Evangeline Lilly of "Lost," Hayden Panettiere of "Heroes," Jennifer Love Hewitt of "Ghost Whisperer," Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy."

Choice breakout show: "Ugly Betty," "Friday Night Lights," "October Road," "Heroes," "South of Nowhere."

Choice breakout: America Ferrera of "Ugly Betty," Matt Dallas of "Kyle XY," Taylor Kitsch of "Friday Night Lights," Hayden Panettiere of "Heroes," Masi Oka of "Heroes."

Choice villain: Michael Rosenbaum as Lex on "Smallville," Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina on "Ugly Betty," Zachary Quinto as Sylar on "Heroes," Michael Emerson as Ben on "Lost," Robert Knepper as Theodore Bagwell on "Prison Break.

He's probably the most beloved of all the Heroes.

So, how does Masi Oka bring out the charm in Hiro Nakamura? Here are excerpts from a recent interview with the actor:

How did you become involved with the Heroes project? Can you tell me about the casting process?
Basically, there's your typical pressure-filled four rounds of auditions. Luckily it wasn't for public viewing like American Idol, but it was pretty intense. First we read for the casting director, then the producer. Then it gets boiled down to three people at the studio test, and then that boils down to two at the network test, and that was that.

An agent submits you for the part. And you know, I got the script, and I was reading through it, and I just fell in love with the character and the brilliant writing. And I just knew. I loved this part. It's very me, in many senses, and it's such a specific character. Just going through the process, it felt really good. I felt pretty comfortable. I kinda knew it was pretty much mine to lose. I feel like I was at the perfect time, at the perfect place, with the perfect place. It felt like destiny.

 We're told that each actor who was cast added a special something to the characters they will be playing. What do you feel you have added to Hiro?
I don't know. Hopefully my face, my charm, and my ripped body. I feel I gave it more of a naivete, an excitement and energy.

Also, being a Japanese native and having grown up with Japanese media, I can give it some authenticity. I think my comedic and improv experience helped. I don't know. All of the characters are written really well, so I feel I'm just there to try to make it alive, in terms of how I envisioned it, and if I've added something extra that was mine, that's great from an actor's perspective.

Hiro seems to be a big science fiction fan. Are you a science fiction fan as well?
Yeah, definitely. I definitely love science fiction. It's a great genre. I'd never consider myself as a Trekkie, or go on the convention circuit, but I grew up on Japanese comic books, and the manga, and I love the old school stuff, from the Orange Road to modern thrillers like the Monster and Death Note. So, I think sci-fi makes your brain turn and think, and I love the kind of sci-fi that has a message as well, which Heroes does. So I think, yeah, I definitely love science fiction.

Is there a lesson to be learned from Hiro as far as believing in one's self?
Of course. Everything begins with believing. It's like that song from Prince of Egypt, "There can be miracles when you believe" [sings]. If you don't believe, nothing will happen. If you don't believe in something, you'll never take action. Whether if it's in yourself or a higher entity, it's that belief that propels us to move forward and live our lives. There's so much negativity in our world, and nay-sayers, that I just think it's really important to believe. It takes so much courage to say yes, so I think that's hopefully a lesson that everyone will take with them.

What was your reaction when you learned that Heroes was going to be picked up as a series?
I was absolutely elated. It's just a phenomenal script, phenomenal characters. Our biggest thing was, I wanted to know what was coming next! I just wanted to follow the script! I was like, "I want to read Episode 2, Episode 3. What's going to happen to these characters?" That was more my thing. It was like "Yes! I get to see where these characters are gonna go."So that was the biggest thing for me. And also, for me, doing the pilot, I didn't get a chance to work with such a brilliant cast, because most of our storylines are so separate, and I just wanted to have the opportunity to work with my co-workers.

Was there anyone in the cast that you were a big fan of before signing on to the show?
No one in particular; I just think they're all great actors. And I want to be selfish, and I want to work with all of them, to be honest with you.

Will the Japanese/subtitle thing continue into the series or will Hiro somehow gain the secondary power of instant translation?
Oh, well I'm gonna quote Mr. Tim Kring on this one. "Hiro speaks limited English, that seems to get better and better as we go along. He can get by with his limited vocabulary, but also with the sheer force of his charm and personality. The audience will have fun watching him get more and more comfortable with it." So, it looks like Hiro will definitely slowly learn at whatever pace he picks up English. I personally think that, because he reads a lot of American comics, I'd love for him to speak English, but only in comic book phrases. That would be a funny thing to do.

At one point of the pilot, Hiro manages to transport himself clear across the world. How does he know where he can safely land?
When Hiro concentrates, I believe he sees his destination place, when he's bending time and space. He visualizes, and sees that open area. He's able to control when he's going to occupy that space. Of course there will be other atoms there, no matter what, but he finds a way to find out when the coast is clear, and transport himself at that precise moment.

To read the rest of this interview, click here.