Masi Oka is much more than just a gamer and the star of NBC's breakout comic book-driven hit, "Heroes." He's the man behind the special effects you've enjoyed for years in movies like Star Wars Episodes I and III, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, War of the Worlds and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
When he's not playing Hiro Nakamura on NBC, Oka spends some of his free time working with George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). Since 1998, long before he got the acting bug, this Brown University graduate has been working with 1's and 0's, programming special effects, including the water effects in The Perfect Storm.
His knowledge of computer-generated imagery and special effects gives Oka a unique view of gaming. Born in Japan and a resident of the U.S., the actor speaks fluent Japanese, which allows him to play Japanese versions of games like Final Fantasy XII before they hit the U.S. shores. He's a big fan of Sony's PSP system, which he takes with him everywhere he goes.
"I like playing the puzzle games, because as an actor, I'm always trying to kill time on the set," said Oka. "On 'Heroes,' there's a lot of waiting. I can't play a long role-playing game, because once you get into that, you get so hooked, you don't want to stop. The AD is trying to get you to the set and you're in your trailer yelling, 'Hold on, I'm almost done.' But you're never really done. I like playing self-contained games like sports or puzzle games."
Oka, who returns to Japan routinely and travels a lot for work, also finds his PSP system a godsend on airplanes.
"On planes, it's great to watch a movie or games," said Oka. "That's all I do on planes, is whip out my PSP and just stay focused on it the whole ride through. I won't even get food. I'm not a big fan of flying, so the PSP system helps me. I usually bring 10 games with me, like Loco Roco or Star Wars Battlefront II. I play a lot of Capcom Classics, Mercury, Sudoku. I also like compilations like the Sega Genesis Collection, Midway Arcade Treasures and EA Replay."
Oka enjoys playing the old school games, especially classics like 1942 and Time Pilot.
"I don't know why, maybe I'm getting old or something," said Oka, who's 32. "Nostalgia is kind of cool sometimes. Sometimes simple is best. I don't want to have to press eight different buttons to play a game. The old Street Fighter was great, and so was the first Street Fighter II. But then when it started to become like Tekken, when you had to memorize 800 different combos, it just got insane. I guess it was cool to know all of those favorite moves, when you didn't have anything else to do with your life. When you're in college, you have to study for your finals rather than memorizing my 18 move finishing combo or Babality in Mortal Kombat. That's when I said, 'Yeah, that's it!'"
Oka's into all type of technology and games. He said he didn't even realize the full potential of the PSP system when he first got one. Now he uses it for everything from watching UMD movies to listening to MP3s.
Oka's psyched about the new Remote Access for the PSP system, which allows any Wi-Fi connected home to share content between PLAYSTATION 3 and the PSP system. The actor recently received a PS3 and he's looking forward to Sony's next step in Remote Access, which will expand the technology in 2007 to allow for instant access of PS3 content from any hot spot anywhere in the world.
"As an actor, Remote Access will allow you to connect to the Internet with the PSP," said Oka. "It's so much smaller and lighter than lugging around a laptop. I can be on location and surfing the Web with my PSP. It just gives you a lot more versatility and a lot more options."
Oka said it's great that Remote Play is out there today for consumers with Wi-Fi homes to use because it turns the PSP system into a portable media device.
"Instead of your PC desktop, you can use the PS3 as your whole media hub," said Oka. "It's an extension of what the laptop and the Wi-Fi and the desktop does. The whole Wi-Fi thing is great if you have brothers in your house or you're in a dorm room and you can have a PS3 in your house or room and PSP systems to connect to it."
Since he does have a technology background and a brilliant mind, Oka's already looking ahead to the future at the next evolution of connectivity.
"With PS3, I'm sure you'll be able to use the PSP system to play games down the line," said Oka. "It'd be cool to play Madden that way. I can't remember all of the plays, and when I'm playing against someone, I don't like the plays to be shown on the screen, but with a PSP, you could select plays for the PS3 Madden and not show anyone what you're thinking."
When the acting quiets down at some point down the line--with 14 million people tuning in each week to "Heroes," it likely won't be soon--Oka said he'd like to get involved in videogame development. Through ILM, he has friends that work at game companies like Electronic Arts and Activision. And he has a lot of ideas that would be great for games, including one for a "Heroes" game.
That show has certainly changed Oka's life. No one out there knew he was the guy who made the water effects in blockbuster movies, but everyone knows him as Hiro.
"The biggest change since Heroes became a hit has been being recognized out on the street," said Oka. "I made a guy's head turn and drop a cell phone. That was funny. I'm not a hot chick, but I made him drop a cell phone after I walked by him. I had a random girl walk past me at a restaurant, and then she turned, ran up to me, told me "I love you," she kissed me, and then she ran away. This is the kind of stuff that would have never happened if I weren't on a hit show."
Gamers will likely hear a lot more from Oka, both through his TV role, his behind-the-scenes work on films, and, some day, through his videogames.
