
Masi Oka : Hiro Nakamura
Date Of Birth: December 27th, 1974 Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated Masi Oka stars in NBC’s hit ensemble drama series “Heroes” as Hiro Nakamura, a Japanese nonconformist computer/anime geek. Hiro's ability to pierce the space-time continuum and manipulate time has empowered him with foresight into a dangerous future — and what he must do to change it. “Heroes” follows the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities.
No stranger to television, Oka has had recurring roles on NBC’s “Scrubs” as Franklyn and “Luis” as Deng Wu. He has also guest starred on “Without a Trace,” “Joey,” “Reba,” “The Loop,” “All of Us,” “Still Standing,” “Will & Grace,” “Yes, Dear” and “The Gilmore Girls.”
Oka stars in the upcoming feature-film remake of the television classic “Get Smart” and its companion DVD release “Get Smarter” both slated for 2008 release. His additional film credits include memorable roles in “Along Came Polly” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”
With a background in improvisation, Oka has graced the stages of the Groundlings, ImprovOlympics, Second City and TheatreSports. His improvisational expertise has been showcased with guest appearances as various characters on “Punk'd,” “Reno 911” and “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.”
After graduating from Brown University with degrees in mathematics and computer science and a theater arts minor, Oka pursued an acting career while taking his first job at George Lucas’ Oscar-winning special effects house Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Today, despite his successful career as an actor, he continues to provide ILM with technology for groundbreaking effects for more than 30 films.
Oka was born in Tokyo, Japan, and moved to Los Angeles at age 6, where he currently resides. He is fluent in Japanese and proficient in Spanish. His hobbies include kendo/Japanese sword fighting, fencing, playing table tennis, watching romantic comedies, playing the piano and singing.