George
Takei, best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in the acclaimed
television and film series Star Trek, has more than 30 feature
films and hundreds of television guest-starring roles to his credit.
Recognized
worldwide as a member of the original Star Trek cast, George
received a star on
Hollywood
Boulevard
’s Walk
of Fame in 1986 and he placed his signature and hand print in the
forecourt of the landmark Grauman's Chinese Theater in
Hollywood
in 1991.
Among
his credits is a music industry accolade -- a 1987 Grammy nomination in
the "Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording" category.
George's distinctive voice is featured in Walt Disney Pictures’
full-length animated feature, Mulan (and the upcoming Mulan II),
Star Trek audio novel recordings, Fox Television’s The Simpsons,
Futurama, and in numerous voice-overs and narrations.
A
community activist, George serves on the board of governors of East West
Players, the nation's foremost Asian Pacific American theater. He is
chairman of the board of trustees of the
Japanese
American
National
Museum
and on the
advisory committee of the California Civil Liberties Public Education
Program.
George’s
acting career has spanned four decades. It began in the summer between his
freshman and sophomore years at the
University
of
California
at
Berkeley
, when
George answered a newspaper advertisement placed by a company casting
voices for a motion picture. The film was Rodan, a Japanese
science-fiction classic about a prehistoric creature terrorizing
Tokyo
. In a
sound stage on the MGM lot in
Culver City
,
Calif.
, George
dubbed the original Japanese lines into English, creating distinct voices
for eight characters.
George’s
professional acting debut occurred on live television in the pioneering
drama series, Playhouse 90. His motion picture debut was in
Ice
Palace
starring
Richard Burton, released by Warner Bros. in 1959. Films include six Star
Trek motion pictures (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star
Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek III:
The Search for Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek: The
Motion Picture), The Green Berets, Majority of One, Noon Blue Apples,
Who Gets the House?, Mulan, Trekkies, The Best Bad Thing, Patient 14,
Chongbal aka Vanished, Live by the Fist, Bug Busters, Kissinger and Nixon,
Prisoners of the Sun, Return From the River Kwai, Red Line 7000,
Never So Few, Walk Don’t Run, An American Dream, P.T. 109, Oblivion, The
Loudmouth, Which Way to the Front?, Bicycle Built for Three, and Hell
to Eternity.
In
addition to his role in the original Star Trek series, television
roles include guest-starring appearances on 3rd Rock From the Sun,
Murder She Wrote, Watching Ellie, Grosse Pointe, Early Edition, Diagnosis
Murder, In the House, John Woo’s Once a Thief, Homeboys in Outer Space,
Muppets Tonight, Brotherly Love, Mission: Impossible, Twilight Zone, Perry
Mason, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Miami Vice, I Spy, Son
of the Beach, Marcus Welby, M.D., Hawaiian Eye, Hawaii
Five-O, Ironside, Kung Fu, Mr. Novak, Mr. Roberts, The Six Million Dollar
Man, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Death
Valley Days, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Bracken’s World, Combat, Chico
and the Man, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, MacGyver, Californians,
Chrysler Theatre, U.S. Steel Hour, My Three Sons, and many others.
George
is a member of the
Academy
of
Motion
Picture Arts
and
Sciences (presenter of the Academy Awards), and the
Academy
of
Television
Arts
and
Sciences (the Emmy Awards).
George’s
theatrical credits include Undertow, winner of the Scotsman First
Award at the Edinburgh Festival, and The Wash, written by Philip
Kan Gotanda and presented in
New York
at the
Manhattan Theater Club and in
Los Angeles
at the
Mark Taper Forum. He performed in Year of the Dragon at the
American Place Theater in
New York
and in Fly
Blackbird at the
Billy
Rose
Theater
in
New York
and the
Metro Theater in
Los Angeles
. George
played in a musical version of Snow White at the Dome Theater in
Brighton
,
England
, and was
the genie in Aladdin at the Hexagon Theatre in
Reading
,
England
.
In
June 2002, George appeared in The Human Race Theatre Company concert
production of Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures at the Loft
Theatre in
Dayton
,
Ohio
.
George
is grateful for his association with Star Trek, TV’s
quintessential sci-fi show, and the character he portrays, Hikaru Sulu.
Originally helmsman of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise, Mr. Sulu was
promoted to captain of the U.S.S. Excelsior in Star Trek VI: The
Undiscovered Country, released in 1991. George reprised his Captain
Sulu role in a Star Trek: Voyager episode titled
"Flashback" in 1996.
George’s
talents extend to writing. He wrote a science-fiction novel, Mirror
Friend, Mirror Foe.
As
told in his autobiography, To the Stars, published by Pocket Books
in 1994, George was born in
Los Angeles
,
California
. With the
outbreak of World War II, he and his family together with 120,000 other
Japanese Americans were placed behind the barbed-wire enclosures of
United
States
internment
camps. George spent most of his childhood at
Camp
Rohwer
in the
swamps of
Arkansas
and at
wind-swept
Camp
Tule
Lake
in
northern
California
.
George’s
family eventually returned to his native
Los Angeles
, which
shaped his acting career. The motion picture studios -- their magical back
lot sets visible behind tall fences -- were alluring presences. Every
grammar school skit, junior high drama club, and high school play became a
stepping stone to realizing his not-so-secret dream of becoming an actor.
After
graduating from
Los Angeles
High School
, George
enrolled in the
University
of
California
at
Berkeley
. Later, he
transferred to the
University
of
California
at
Los Angeles
, where he
received a bachelor of arts in theater in 1960 and a master of arts in
theater in 1964. He attended the Shakespeare Institute at
Stratford-Upon-Avon
in
England
and
Sophia
University
in
Tokyo
,
Japan
. In
Hollywood
, he
studied acting at the Desilu Workshop.
In
addition to his acting career, George always has been extremely involved
in civic affairs. Along with actress Beulah Quo, George produced and
hosted a public affairs show, Expression East/West, which aired on
KNBC-TV in
Los Angeles
from 1971
to 1973.
Always
a political activist, George ran for the Los Angeles City Council in 1973,
losing by a small percentage. At a crossroads, he had to decide whether to
pursue a political career or an acting career. He decided on acting, but
to remain involved in civic affairs to whatever extent he could.
George
was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley to the board of directors
of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, serving from 1973 to
1984. George was one of the driving forces behind the Arts in Transit
program in which every Metro Rail subway station is given its own
distinctive look, thereby fostering neighborhood pride. He also served as
a vice president of the American Public Transit Association.
George
is a past chairman of El Pueblo Park Association and former president of
Friends of Little Tokyo Arts, an organization that encourages and supports
artists. He was appointed by President Clinton to the board of the
Japan-United States Friendship Commission, where he served two terms.
A
resident of
Los Angeles
, George is
a dedicated long-distance runner since his high school cross-country team
days. He has completed five 26.2-mile marathons and carried the Olympic
Flame in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Torch Relay.
Actor - filmography
(In Production) (2000s) (1990s)
(1980s) (1970s) (1960s)
(1950s)
- Cyber
Meltdown (2004) (announced)
- DC 9/11 (2003) (TV)
(pre-production)
.... Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta
- Patient 14 (2003)
(post-production)
.... Dr. Reese Tsai
- Freelancer
(2003) (VG) (voice) .... Lord Hakkera
- Noon Blue Apples
(2002)
- Star Trek: Starfleet
Command: Volume II: Empires at War (2000) (VG) (voice) .... Hikaru
Sulu
- Freelancer
(1999) .... Lord Hakira
- Star Trek: Starfleet
Command (1999) (VG) .... Hikaru Sulu
... aka Star Trek: Starfleet Command: Gold Edition (2000) (VG) (USA:
longer version)
- Who Gets the House?
(1999) .... Elliott
- Batman Beyond: The
Movie (1999) (TV) (voice) .... Mr. Fixx
- Bug Buster (1998)
.... Dr. Hiro Fujimoto
... aka Some Things Never Die (1998) (UK: video title)
- Starfleet Academy:
Chekov's Lost Missions (1998) (VG) .... Hikaru Sulu
- "Hercules"
(1998) TV Series (voice) .... Ptolemy
... aka "Disney's Hercules" (1998) (USA)
- Mulan (1998)
(voice) .... First Ancestor
- Best Bad Thing, The
(1997) (TV) .... Mr. Yamanaka
- Star Trek: Starfleet
Academy (1997) (VG) .... Hikaru Sulu
- Magic Pearl, The
(1997) .... Ha Ping
- Oblivion 2: Backlash
(1996) .... Doc Valentine
... aka Backlash: Oblivion 2 (1996) (USA: video box title)
- Kissinger and Nixon
(1995) (TV) .... Le Duc Tho
- Chongbal (1994)
.... Han Seoung Tae
... aka Vanished (1994)
- Oblivion (1994)
.... Doc Valentine
- Star Trek: Judgment
Rites (1994) (VG) (voice) .... Lt. Hikaru Sulu
- "Spider-Man"
(1994) TV Series (voice) .... Wong/Additional
Voices
- Live by the Fist
(1993) .... Uncle Coronado
- Star Trek: 25th
Anniversary Enhanced (1992) (VG) (voice) .... Hikaru Sulu
- Star Trek VI: The
Undiscovered Country (1991) .... Captain Hikaru Sulu
- Prisoners of the Sun
(1990) .... Vice-Adm. Baron Takahashi
... aka Blood Oath (1990)
- Star
Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) .... Commander Hikaru Sulu
- Return from the River
Kwai (1988) .... Lt. Tanaka
- Stop Smoking (1988)
(V) .... Host
- "Jonny
Quest" (1986) TV Series (voice) ....
Additional Voices
- Star Trek IV: The
Voyage Home (1986) .... Commander Hikaru Sulu, Helmsman
... aka Voyage Home: Star Trek IV, The (1986)
- "General
Hospital" (1963) TV Series .... Diem (1985)
- Star Trek III: The
Search for Spock (1984) .... Commander Hikaru Sulu
- Star Trek: The Wrath
of Khan (1982) .... Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu
... aka Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) (new title)
... aka Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - The Director's Edition
(2002) (USA: director's cut)
- Saturn Awards (1981)
(TV)
- Star
Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) .... Lt. Commander Hikaru Sulu
... aka Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition (2001)
(USA: DVD title)
- Year of the Dragon
(1975) (TV) .... Fred Eng
- "Star Trek"
(1973) TV Series (voice) .... Lieutenant Hikaru
Sulu/Additional (voices)
... aka "Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek,
The" (1973) (USA: video box title)
... aka "Star Trek: TAS" (1973) (USA: promotional
abbreviation)
... aka "Star Trek: The Animated Adventures" (1973) (USA)
... aka "Star Trek: The Animated Series" (1973)
- Which Way to the
Front? (1970) .... Yamashita
- Green
Berets, The (1968) .... Capt. Nim
- Big Mouth, The (1967)
(uncredited) .... Diamond jeweler
- Murderers' Row (1966)
(uncredited) .... Tempura
- American Dream, An
(1966)
... aka See You in Hell, Darling (1966) (UK)
- Star Trek: Where No
Man Has Gone Before (1966) (TV) .... Lt. Hikaru Sulu
... aka Where No Man Has Gone Before (1966) (TV)
- "Star Trek"
(1966) TV Series .... Lt. Hikaru Sulu
... aka "Star Trek: TOS" (1966) (USA: promotional
abbreviation)
- Walk Don't Run (1966)
.... Police Captain
- Red Line 7000 (1965)
.... Kato
- Morituri (1965) (uncredited)
.... Junior Officer
... aka Saboteur, Code Name Morituri, The (1965) (UK)
- PT 109 (1963) (uncredited)
.... Helmsman on Japanese Destroyer
- Majority of One, A
(1961) .... Mr. Asano's son
- Hell to Eternity
(1960) .... George
- Ice Palace (1960)
.... Wang
- Never
So Few (1959) (uncredited) .... Soldier in Hospital
... aka Campaign Burma (1959) (USA: alternative title)
- Sora no daikaijû
Radon (1956) (uncredited) .... Voice
... aka Radon (1956)
... aka Radon, Monster from the Sky (1956) (literal English title)
... aka Rodan (1956)
... aka Rodan! The Flying Monster (1957) (USA)
Himself - filmography
(2000s) (1990s) (1980s)
- OB-1
(2002) (TV) .... Himself
... aka Orbital Broadcast One (2002) (TV) (USA)
- Spotlight on Trek
(2001) (TV) .... Himself
- Spotlight on George
Takei (2000) (TV) .... Himself
- Ultimate
Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments (1999) (TV) (archive footage)
- Trekkies (1997)
.... Himself
- William Shatner's
Star Trek Memories (1995) (V) .... Himself
- Curse of the Dragon
(1993) .... Himself/Narrator
... aka Bruce Lee: Curse of the Dragon (1993)
- Star Trek 25th
Anniversary Special (1991) (TV) .... Himself
- Doctor
Who Who's Who (1986) (TV) .... Himself
Notable TV Guest Appearances
- "Watching
Ellie" (2002) playing "Himself"
in episode: "Fruit Shots" (episode # 2.5)
13 May 2003
- "Son of the
Beach" (2000) playing "Grandfather"
in episode: "Empty the Dragon" (episode #
3.10) 20 August 2002
- "Futurama"
(1999) playing "Himself/Lt. Hikaru Sulu"
(voice) in episode: "Where No Fan Has Gone
Before" (episode # 4.12) 21 April 2002
- "Jackie Chan
Adventures" (2000) (voice) in episode:
"The Chosen One" (episode # 2.28) 20 April
2002
- "Simpsons,
The" (1989) playing "Waiter" (voice)
in episode: "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love"
(episode # 13.4) 2 December 2001
- "Chronicle,
The" (2001) playing "Mr. Shen"
in episode: "Here There Be Dragons" (episode
# 1.3) 21 July 2001
- "V.I.P."
(1998) playing "KOP/Himself" in
episode: "A.I. Highrise" (episode # 3.14)
17 February 2001
- "Samurai
Jack" (2001) playing "Warrior 4"
(voice) in episode: "Jack vs. Demongo the Soul
Stealer" (episode # 1.23)
- "Baby
Blues" (2000) playing "Bonsai"
(voice) in episode: "Ugly Zoe"
(episode # 1.8) 25 August 2000
- "Simpsons,
The" (1989) playing "Game Show Host"
(voice) in episode: "Thirty Minutes Over
Tokyo" (episode # 10.22) 16 May 1999
- "Batman
Beyond" (1999) playing "Mr. Fixx"
(voice) in episode: "Rebirth: Part 2"
(episode # 1.2) 10 January 1999
- "Batman
Beyond" (1999) playing "Mr. Fixx"
(voice) in episode: "Rebirth: Part 1"
(episode # 1.1) 10 January 1999
- "Diagnosis
Murder" (1993) playing "Governmet
Agent" in episode: "Alienated"
(episode # 6.6) 29 October 1998
- "Early
Edition" (1996) playing "Mr. Lee"
in episode: "Blackout" (episode # 3.1)
26 September 1998
- "In the
House" (1995) playing "Dr. Vince
O'Toole" in episode: "The Stuff That Dreams
Are Made Of" (episode # 4.9) 13 November 1997
- "Once a
Thief" (1997) playing "McCoy
Matsumoto" in episode: "Art of Death"
(episode # 1.4) 6 October 1997
- "Homeboys in
Outer Space" (1996) playing
"Himself" in episode: "The Adventures of
Ratman and Gerbil or, Holy Homeboys in Outer Space"
(episode # 1.21) 13 May 1997
- "Hey
Arnold!" (1996) playing "Phoebe's
Father" (voice) in episode: "Freeze
Frame/Phoebe Cheats" (episode # 2.8) 1997
- "3rd Rock from
the Sun" (1996) playing "Himself"
in episode: "Hotel Dick" (episode # 2.3)
29 September 1996
- "Star Trek:
Voyager" (1995) playing "Captain Hikaru
Sulu" in episode: "Flashback"
(episode # 3.2) 11 September 1996
- "Spider-Man"
(1994) playing "Wong/Monk" (voice)
in episode: "Sins of the Fathers: Part 1: Dr.
Strange" (episode # 3.1) 27 April 1996
- "Minor
Adjustments" (1995) playing "Simms"
in episode: "The Ungrateful Dead" (episode #
1.10) 30 January 1996
- "Space
Cases" (1996) playing "Shank"
in episode: "Spung at Heart" 1996
- "Hey
Arnold!" (1996) playing "Phoebe's
Father" (voice) in episode: "Phoebe
Cheats"
- "Kung Fu: The
Legend Continues" (1993) playing "Colonel
Ong" in episode: "The Return of Sing
Ling" (episode # 3.4) 13 February 1995
- "Freakazoid!"
(1995) playing "Himself"
- "Howard Stern
Show, The" (1994) playing "Himself"
1994
- "Lightning
Force" (1991) playing "General Seng"
in episode: "M.I.A.: Part 2" (episode # 1.16)
23 February 1992
- "Lightning
Force" (1991) playing "General Seng"
in episode: "M.I.A.: Part 1" (episode # 1.15)
16 February 1992
- "Simpsons,
The" (1989) playing "Akira" (voice)
in episode: "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue
Fish" (episode # 2.11) 24 January 1991
- "Adderly"
(1986) playing "Frank Tanaka" in
episode: "To Better Days" (episode # 2.4)
28 August 1987
- "Miami
Vice" (1984) playing "Kenneth Togaru"
in episode: "By Hooker by Crook" (episode #
3.20) 20 March 1987
- "Murder, She
Wrote" (1984) playing "Bert Tanaka"
in episode: "The Bottom Line Is Murder"
(episode # 3.15) 15 February 1987
- "MacGyver"
(1985) playing "Dr. Shen Wei" in
episode: "The Wish Child" (episode # 2.4)
20 October 1986
- "Trapper John,
M.D." (1979) in episode: "What a
Difference a Day Makes" (episode # 5.5) 30 October
1983
- "Matt
Houston" (1982) in episode: "The Rock and
the Hard Place" (episode # 1.12) 2 January 1983
- "Vega$"
(1978) playing "Medical Examiner"
in episode: "Ghost of Ripper" (episode #
1.12) 10 January 1979
- "Baa Baa Black
Sheep" (1976) playing "Maj. Kato"
in episode: "Up for Grabs" (episode # 1.7)
16 November 1976
- "Chico and the
Man" (1974) playing "Yoshi Akimura"
in episode: "Mister Butterfly" (episode #
2.8) 7 November 1975
- "Hawaii
Five-O" (1968) playing "Nathanial
Blake" in episode: "Death's Name Is Sam"
(episode # 8.5) 10 October 1975
- "Star Trek"
(1973) playing "Orion Lieutenant/Huron
helmsman" (voice) in episode: "The Pirates of
Orion" (episode # 2.1) 7 September 1974
- "Six Million
Dollar Man, The" (1974) playing "Chin
Lang" in episode: "The Coward" 19 April
1974
- "Star Trek"
(1973) playing "Commander Kuri/Klingon
#1" (voice) in episode: "The Time Trap"
(episode # 1.12) 24 November 1973
- "Star Trek"
(1973) playing "Amusement Park Computer"
(voice) in episode: "Once Upon a Planet"
(episode # 1.9) 3 November 1973
- "Star Trek"
(1973) playing "Megan voice" (voice)
in episode: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu"
(episode # 1.8) 27 October 1973
- "Kung Fu"
(1972) in episode: "King of the Mountain"
(episode # 1.1) 14 October 1972
- "Courtship of
Eddie's Father, The" (1969) playing "Mr.
Sato" in episode: "Gentleman Friend"
(episode # 1.8) 12 November 1969
- "It Takes a
Thief" (1968) in episode: "To Catch a
Roaring Lion" (episode # 2.12) 31 December 1968
- "Felony
Squad" (1966) playing "Jimmy Ito"
in episode: "A Blueprint for Dying" (episode
# 1.27) 20 March 1967
- "Mission:
Impossible" (1966) playing "Roger
Lee" in episode: "The Carriers"
(episode # 1.9) 19 November 1966
- "Wackiest Ship
in the Army, The" (1965) in episode: "My
Father's Keeper" (episode # 1.20) 13 February 1966
- "I Spy"
(1965) playing "Yuze" in episode:
"The Barter" (episode # 1.16) 12 January 1966
- "I Spy"
(1965) playing "Ito" in episode:
"Tigers of Heaven" (episode # 1.13) 15
December 1965
- "My Three
Sons" (1960) playing "Won Tsun"
in episode: "Hong Kong Story" (episode #
6.12) 3 December 1965
- "Voyage to the
Bottom of the Sea" (1964) playing "Major
Chang" in episode: "The Silent
Saboteurs" (episode # 2.10) 28 November 1965
- "Death Valley
Days" (1952) in episode: "The Book"
(episode # 14.9) 28 October 1965
- "Wackiest Ship
in the Army, The" (1965) in episode:
"Goldbrickers" (episode # 1.3) 3 October 1965
- "Twilight Zone,
The" (1959) playing "Taro" in
episode: "The Encounter" (episode # 5.31)
1 May 1964
- "Gallant Men,
The" (1962) playing "Harry Ochi"
in episode: "One Puka Puka" (episode # 1.22)
2 March 1963
- "Hawaiian
Eye" (1959) playing "Thomas Jefferson Chu"
in episode: "Thomas Jefferson Chu" (episode #
3.5) 25 October 1961
- "Hawaiian
Eye" (1959) playing "Larry Chang"
in episode: "The Manchu Formula" (episode #
2.34) 3 May 1961
- "Hawaiian
Eye" (1959) playing "Yen Fu"
in episode: "Jade Song" (episode # 2.5)
12 October 1960
- "Hawaiian
Eye" (1959) playing "Hiroshi Kawagani"
in episode: "Sword of the Samurai" (episode #
1.18) 3 February 1960
- "Perry
Mason" (1957) playing "Toma Sakai"
in episode: "The Case of the Blushing Pearls"
(episode # 3.4) 24 October 1959
