Heroes returns tonight, January 4th at 8:00 PM with a double episode. Last week we spoke with Masi Oka, who plays Hiro Nakamura on the show. Check out the interview below and tune in tonight!
PCZ: Thanks for talking to me today.
Masi Oka: You’re welcome, thanks for talking to me.
PCZ: Getting right to it, have you guys finished shooting for the season?
MO: We have actually finished the season, but there are six more episodes to air. We are actually going to finish before the Winter Olympics so no one has to wait until May.
PCZ: There have been some rumors circulating around that NBC had asked the producers to sort of wrap up the show this season. Has there been any indication of that?
MO: You know what, everything’s up in the air, nothing’s for certain if we’re going to come back or if this is the last season. There have to be business, creative and also “political” decisions made, NBC being bought by ComCast, how new pilot’s do, so nothing’s been decided for certain either way.
PCZ: There have been a lot of changes and cast additions this season. How do you feel about Hiro’s direction this year?
MO: Yes, I’ve loved what they’ve done with Hiro. The whole “bucket list”, the emotional journey he’s decided to take has been great. Hopefully it takes off at the end. We do resolve Charlie, the brain tumor and Dr. Suresh, those are the three things that are resolved by the end of the season. Creatively, we all think this is the second strongest season in terms of the show, after the first season which I thought was wonderful and magnificent.
PCZ: What did you think about Hiro getting involved in the Carnival storyline?
MO: I think it was a very interesting take. It’s definitely been fun playing Hiro and there were a lot of challenges this year.
PCZ: We saw some glimpses of Hiro five years in the future during the first couple of seasons looking a little tougher and more serious. If the show comes back for another year is that a direction we could see Hiro moving towards?
MO: I hope so! I don’t know what they have planned for the future, but that would be a nice payoff. They’ve always said that when Hiro becomes “Future Hiro” that’s the end of Hiro’s arc because there’s no more to go on to from there and so when we do end the show I think that would be a fun way to end it.
PCZ: Watching Heroes it seems that Hiro, more than any of the other characters, really pays dearly anytime he acts in any sort of selfish manner. Is that the lesson Hiro needs to ultimately learn?
MO: Absolutely. The biggest thing is he is the only one who works under the hard, stringent code of the heroic ethics, at least what he’s learned from comic book, of course. Powers are never supposed to be used for your personal gain and he’s done that, even though it was to save Charlie and that’s going to have some consequences towards the end of the season.
PCZ: Now that Charlie has been saved, that has altered Sylar’s character somewhat. Does that play out anymore?
MO: Well, to be honest with you the continuity is kind of changing because we’re bending the time/space continuum and the rules change every season, but that’s kind of the nature of the storytelling of Heroes. Hopefully the audience is willing to go along for the ride of the latest direction we go in.
PCZ: Prior to Heroes you worked at Industrial Light and Magic doing digital effects for many films. Did that experience help you with the green screen work you have to do for this show?
MO: Oh yeah, without a doubt. It’s kind of fun because I’m able to talk with a lot of the special effects people on our set and I understand what they’re saying. I have a lot of respect, having come from that background, for the staff and the work that goes to create these effects.
PCZ: Are you able to help others in the cast when it comes to doing green screen work?
MO: Where it’s appropriate, yes. But my job on the show is to be an actor and that’s what I keep my energies focused on.
PCZ: Speaking of ILM, are you still an employee?
MO: Yes, theoretically I am still in their employee database. I was actually up there the other day and they were able to show me a lot of their confidential stuff because I’m in the employee database, which I thought was funny. I’m not employed by them per se, but still in the database so for any films I produce that use CG effects I’m hoping to use my employee discount (laughs).
PCZ: You already spoke fluent Japanese prior to being on Heroes, is that correct?
MO: Yeah, I was born in Japan and when we moved to LA I went to a Japanese school on Saturdays.
PCZ: I spoke to James Kyson Lee earlier in 2009 and he didn’t know any Japanese [prior to Heroes], are you able to help him out?
MO: Well, he has his own translator and coach and he has a different way of learning it, he learns phonetically. It’s a different process [for him] and I respect what he has to do to get the words out.
PCZ: Do you have any aspirations to do any writing or directing?
MO: For Heroes, directing maybe. Ultimately, it would be great to direct. [On a show like Heroes] writing would be difficult because you’d have to be in the room with the other writers and by the time you get a script they’re all way ahead of you. It’s hard to write for your character a lot of time because you can’t see the big picture, the big arc. Directing might be fun to do, but on this show I’ve been fortunate to be hired as an actor and have been lucky to produce other projects and I think that’s where I might expand my horizons.
PCZ: Outside of Heroes you are also involved with the Red Cross. What can you tell me about that?
MO: Right now I’m part of the American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet which is involved in the Red Cross Give a Gift Campaign. If you go to RedCross.org there’s information there on how you can volunteer your time, donate blood and give a gift that could save the day. For me, I get to play a hero on TV, but I want to get the word out and inspire people to be everyday heroes. You don’t need a power to be a hero, it’s all about putting other people before yourself first and we encourage people to go to RedCross.org and look at all the multitudes of possibilities in how you can help your own community and be a hero.
PCZ: Is it rewarding to be in a position where you know if you talk about the Red Cross that people are going to go check it out?
MO: Well, I don’t know that it’s necessarily rewarding, I mean, we don’t just expect our fans to take our word blindly. What we can do as someone who can connect to many people around the world is to get the word out and hopefully raise awareness. Everyone has to make their own choices. The Red Cross is an amazing organization that has helped so many people in need and they’re a global organization. It’s something I believe in and hopefully I can inspire fans and people in the audience to at least be aware of the organization, learn more about it and hopefully get involved.
PCZ: So, any chance that you might take up a musical instrument or do some singing with Greg Grunberg’s Band From TV?
MO: (laughs) I’ve been asked to sing every once in a while with them. They do an amazing job, but unfortunately I’m busy with my own things. I’d love to do it, but I can’t commit to band rehearsals, but I fully support what they’re doing. I would totally join in if I had the time, but they are just so talented I don’t think I’d belong with them.
Thank you to Masi Oka for taking the time to talk to me. Catch two all-new ‘Heroes’ episodes tonight starting at 8:00PM on NBC!at 9