Biography
Who is Masi Oka?
Early life and education
Masi Oka was born in Tokyo, Japan, on December 27, 1974. His mother raised him in a single parent family after his parents divorced when he was one month old. At age six, he moved from Japan to Los Angeles with his mother. As a child, he appeared on a television game show and was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1987. He also placed fourth in a state mathematics competition during his school years.
Work in digital effects and early acting
After graduating from college, Masi took a job at Industrial Light and Magic, which is George Lucas's visual special effects company. He worked on the Star Wars prequel trilogy as a digital effects artist and technical director. He wanted to combine his interest in acting with his technology skills. He moved to Los Angeles after earning a Screen Actors Guild card through work in industry films.
Breakthrough on television
In 2006, Masi achieved mainstream recognition when he was cast as Hiro Nakamura in the NBC television series Heroes. His character possessed the ability to manipulate time. He translated his own dialogue from English to Japanese for the program. His performance earned him nominations for both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. He was the only actor from the show to receive a nomination at either of those award ceremonies.
Personal life and other projects
Beyond acting and digital effects work, Masi has pursued several other professional interests. He founded the video game development studio Mobius Digital and served as a producer for the critically acclaimed game Outer Wilds. He also shares a hobby with his famous television character by collecting manga, and he co-produced an American film adaptation of the Death Note manga series.
Birthday and age
Masi Oka was born on December 27, 1974, which makes Masi 51 years old today. That birthday falls under the Capricorn sign. Masi shares the date with 28 other famous people.
Explore more
