Takei breaks new ground in 'Heroes'

By Ellen Gray | Philadelphia Daily News • Published January 29, 2007

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"He should at least 'Papa, you look like Sulu,' " he said.

Oka, who earlier this month had so far worked only a day or two with Takei, nevertheless does a dead-on impression of the actor, whom he described as "an iconic figure."

"Offscreen, he would tell the old stories," Oka said, lowering his voice to mimic Takei's sonorous tones: "'Back in my day, we used to use camels for transportation."'

Oka's Hiro won't be the only character we'll see Takei with in the coming weeks.

"My last scene was with Horned Rimmed Glasses. Yesterday, as a matter of fact," said Takei, alluding to the nickname of the mysterious character played by Jack Coleman, whose own role in the series so far has been the very definition of ambiguous.

"As I said, all my scenes are in Japanese. That poor guy. He said, 'I'm the deer. There's the headlights,' " Takei said, laughing. "But he did a great job. It was very accented," but understandable.

"He's speaking in Japanese. He memorized it all phonetically," he said.

So Horned Rimmed Glasses speaks Japanese? Hmm ...

Other than that he wouldn't mind having a role, Takei only knows what he's heard about "Star Trek XI," a project from "Lost" co-creator J.J. Abrams. (Some reports suggest the new film could be a prequel to the original series.)

"What would Capt. Sulu be doing a few years after ... 'Star Trek VI'? ... Fans would like to know," he said, laughing.

These days, Takei probably spends as much time talking about gay rights as he does about "Star Trek," after deciding to open up about his personal life for the first time in 2005.

"You know, I've been out, with, certainly family and friends, and my 'Star Trek' colleagues, for many, many years," he said. "The only thing I had not done is talk to the press" about it, something that changed when California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a same-sex marriage bill.

Until the veto, "I thought surely ... my partner and I were going to be able to get married," he said. "When he played to the narrowest, most reactionary segment of his conservative base and vetoed, I felt I needed to speak out. And for me to do that, my voice needed to be authentic. And so I spoke to you guys for the first time."

And, no, it doesn't appear to have hurt his career, which now includes recurring appearances on "The Howard Stern Show."

"I do think there's more interest in me" since his public coming-out, Takei said. "When you get a lot of press, the industry gets more interested."

on tv

'Heroes' airs at 9 p.m. Mondays on NBC.

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