People: You could say he rose to the occasion
Prime-time television has been hit with a great big case of Hiro worship.
We’re talking about Hiro Nakamura, the giddy, “Star Trek”-loving office drone played by Masi Oka on NBC’s “Heroes,” which wraps up its first-half season Monday night.
Fervent fans of the show have been charmed by his gleeful energy and by how he scrunches up his face like a “constipated hamster” just before traveling through time or space.
All the attention has been a big rush for Oka, 31, who after studying math and computer science at Brown University, pursued acting on a part-time basis while working at George Lucas‘ Industrial Light & Magic.
Q: You’re one of the few breakout stars of the new TV season. How is life different?
A: It’s so surreal. I used to be able to go out for dinner and be completely alone. Now, not so much. I get asked by people to pose for photos a lot. I’m starting to feel like the big Goofy character in Disneyland.
Q: Speaking of goofy, there’s been plenty of Internet chatter among women who think you’re so adorable that they want to cuddle with you. What do you make of that?
A: Some friends recently sent me a post they found from a woman who was saying she wanted to make me her pet. She wrote that she wanted to “put me in a cage to keep and kiss me and love me.”
Q: What was your reaction?
A: As long as she feeds me, I’m totally game.
Q: Why do you think people love Hiro so much?
A: He’s basically a wide-eyed kid full of wonder. He’s the kind of person so many of us want to be, but we lose much of that wonder as we grow up and grapple with societal pressures.
Q: But you’ve also had to play the future version of the character, who seems more dark and serious. Is that a tough transition?
A: Any time you can play two diverse characters in one show, it’s a great acting challenge. And playing Future Hiro is cool. You’ve got the robes, the sword and the soul patch which, in real life, would have taken me a whole year to grow. …
The first time I put on that costume, I was going around to all the women on the (film) crew and saying, (with deepened voice), “Hey baby, what’s up?” They’d all say, “Oh Hiro, you’re so studly and cool!” And I’d say, “Yeah, I know.”
The birthday bunch
Singer Andy Williams is 79. Singer Ozzy Osbourne is 58. Actress Daryl Hannah is 46. Actress Julianne Moore is 46. Actor Brendan Fraser is 38. Singer Montell Jordan is 38. Actress Holly Marie Combs (“Charmed”) is 33. Actor Brian Bonsall (“Family Ties”) is 25.