George "Sulu" Takei Field: Actor Website: www.GeorgeTakei.com Email: Fan Mail Form

The Battlestar Galactica Fan Club Co-President Shawn O'Donnell "BGR" (bgresurrection_1999@yahoo.com)recently spoke with George Takei, "Sulu" from the original Star Trek series and movies. He discussed his work and his thoughts regarding the future of Star Trek.

GT: As far back as I could remember, I have been a "ham." I was always performing as a child for my parent's guests. I guess it was inborn. As to what drew me to acting, I first became aware of a performer's magic as a kid in one of the World War II American concentration camps in Arkansas. About once a month, they would show us an old movie in the camp mess hall after dinner. They were usually Hollywood movies from the '30s. However, occasionally, they showed old Japanese samurai movies. But the sound track was missing so a man accompanied the screenings by providing the dialogue. One man provided the voice for the samurai hero, the Shogun, the beautiful princess and the fearful servants. I was mesmerized. I found the narrator more fascinating than the film itself. This was when I first experienced the power and the magic of an actor's art.

GT: My first serious acting role was in an episode of Playhouse 90 titled "Made it Japan." It starred Dean Stockwell, E.G. Marshall, Harry Guardino, Dick York, Robert Vaughn and Nobu McCarthy. This was a live telecast of a 90 minutes drama. I write extensively on this first and heady experience of working with these outstanding professional actors in my autobiography, "To The Stars." Do pick up a copy and read my discovery of Harry Guardino's secret acting trick when doing a long monologue in a live telecast drama.

GT: No. I was automatically drawn to the prospect of working regularly. When my agent called to tell me about an interview he had set up for me with a man named Gene Roddenberry, I knew nothing about him. When he told me that it was a sci-fi project, it did nothing for me. But when he told me that it was the role of a regular character in a pilot film for a television series, I was really excited. It would mean regular work.... if I got cast. I desperately wanted the role.

GT: I was awe struck when I went in for the interview. Here was a man I had seen so often on that giant screen in close ups. And here he was right in front of me telling me about this movie he was producing and starring in. A face so familiar that I knew every squint and wrinkle. It was an unforgettable experience. But he was not an intimidating guy. Very down to earth and exactly like he was on screen - decent and straight-forward.

As for the difference between film and television, very simply put --- money. The budget is much bigger for a major feature film than for an episode of television. So you have more time, more care to details and better everything, sets, costumes, props etc.

GT: I knew we were working on a quality project, produced with much care and integrity. But in television, it is all a big throw of the dice. One never knows whether it will hit or not. When the ratings didn't come in, we worked that much harder to earn the ratings. But it didn't come in time to save us from the disastrous numbers of the third season.

GT: Disappointment. Sadness. But not unexpected. We were proud of what we did, but the ratings gave us the foreshadowing of the cancellation to come.

GT: The original series films seemed to fit the now famous "odd" "even" phenomenon of the Star Trek movies. The even numbered ones always seemed to be better than the odd numbered ones. Odd ones usually turned out .... well, ... odd. My favorite is Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country or "Captain Sulu to the Rescue."

GT: The Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry that saw the human future as a bright one, where people confident of their capacity for challenge worked together in concert to overcome common adversaries, seems to have strayed a bit. Deep Space Nine was much darker and pessimistic. The Voyager crew seemed to suffer from more internal conflict than from without. I wonder if the franchise created by Gene Roddenberry has benefited from these more recent incarnations.

GT: To demonstrate Sulu's capacity for leadership as well as his loyalty to his friends. Also to prove that there was no "glass ceiling" with Star Fleet. The meritocracy that Star Fleet was had to be, in fact, verified with Sulu's promotion.

GT: Most definitely. It will knock your sox off. Just give us the opportunity.

GT: It is absolutely baffling. The marketplace has been well defined and sustained by the fans. Why the studio has to constantly be reminded of this simple fact is eternally puzzling.

GT: As Spock would say, "There are always possibilities." Certainly with the Excelsior, there are a myriad possibilities. Who is the mother of Sulu's daughter? What happened to that woman? What happens with the daughter. What happens with the Excelsior in that 80 year span between Star Trek VI and the next generation? There are endless story lines that could be developed.

There is a massive campaign underway to use the USS Excelsior and the Captain Sulu character (established in Star Trek VI : The Undiscovered Country) as the centerpiece for a new series. You can find out more information about the campaign at Excelsior Campaign Headquarters hosted by the International Federation of Trekkers (See banner below).

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