05.03.07
George Takei: Still boldly going after all these years
George Takei talks to IGN.com about his role as Masi Oka’s dad in “Heroes,” improv comedy, being gay in Hollywood, and the new “Star Trek” movie (a prequel that will feature younger versions of the Enterprise crew).
Interestingly, Takei says that Sulu wasn’t meant to be Japanese, but somehow pan-Asian: “(”Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry) wanted a character to personify Asia, but Asian names are nationally specific. … So he looked at a map of Asia for a name that would represent the whole of Asia and found in the South Seas, right off the Philippines, the Sulu Sea. And he thought ‘Ahh, the waters of a sea touch all shores.’ And so that’s how Sulu came about, so he’s not Japanese, he’s Asian.”