Life is different when you’re a superhero.
Just ask Masi Oka.
The longtime character actor was known here and there among hardcore TV fans for his bit parts over the past several years. But his new role as Hiro Nakamura, the comic relief and fan favorite among NBC’s new group of “Heroes,” has changed everything. “Heroes” returns from its winter hiatus with a new episode at 9 tonight on KING-TV, Channel 5.
For starters, Oka earned a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor. But it’s the little things that remind him of this moment in time, he says.
Whether it’s walking down the street and meeting new fans of the show, participating in press conferences with reporters who are hanging on his every word, or meeting Steven Spielberg and hearing his thoughts on “Heroes,” Oka knows he’s gotten himself into something special.
“All these moments – the small ones, the big ones – they all add up and make this entire experience a truly surreal one,” Oka said. “I wish I had Hiro’s powers. I would love to be able to stop this moment in time and just enjoy it for the rest of my life. But, unfortunately, I don’t have that power.”
In just 11 episodes, “Heroes” has become the top-rated new show among the coveted 18- to 49-year-old set and has taken over the water cooler discussion – at least when people aren’t talking about that singing show on Fox.
Oka, a science fiction and comic book fan, said he knew it was a quality show, but wasn’t sure if it would catch on with the mainstream audience.
“(Creator) Tim Kring wrote an amazing pilot and created an amazing world with these brilliant characters with such depth,” Oka said. “It is such a wonderful surprise and we’re just grateful.”
Oka wasn’t able to drop too much scoop about the coming episodes, but we left off with a riveting “winter finale” in which Peter was having dreamlike flashes of exploding on a New York street, making him the long-sought bomb that Hiro and the others were trying to prevent from going off.
In tonight’s new episode, Peter is in a coma and his dreams will give viewers some insight, and possibly introduce a new hero. The rest of the heroes, though, begin the transition from discovering their powers to learning how to use them, which will be the theme of the second part of the season, Oka said.
“You’re starting to see a lot of the crossover and the paths of all the characters are intertwining,” he said. “There are some wonderful, wonderful twists coming up.”
Hiro begins his quest to find the sword that we saw “future Hiro” carrying a few episodes back, because he believes it will help him control his power of breaking the time and space continuum. We’ll also meet Hiro’s father, played by George Takei of “Star Trek” fame, within the next few episodes, which will cause some tension for the most excitable hero in the bunch.
“You find that the father has a lot of expectations of his son,” Oka said. “Hiro is his only male son, who he expected to kind of be his heir to his company. So, he kind of views Hiro’s journey to be very childish and foolish, and he wants him to grow up.”
Sounds like just the right amount of newfound depth and backstory for a show that, so far, has made all the right moves.
Victor Balta’s TV column runs Mondays and Thursdays on the A&E page. Reach him at 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
For more TV scoop, check out Victor’s blog at www.heraldnet. com/blogpopculture.
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