Greatest American Heroes
George Takei and Masi Oka
WHY THEM As Sulu on Star Trek, Takei, 70, blazed trails for Asian-American actors. As Hiro, time-warping supernerd of Heroes, Oka, 33, is just blazing. It was a stroke of genius and great respect to cast them as father and son on the new show.
LOVE THE MAN, NOT THE SULU Oka isn't a Trekkie. ''My allegiance is to Star Wars,'' says the actor, who works as an F/X consultant at George Lucas' ILM. ''But I was a huge George Takei fan growing up. He was the only person I could look up to in terms of Asians in the media.''
FIGHT CLUB In one Heroes episode, Takei's character teaches Hiro to use a sword. Takei credits his bladesmanship partly to training for a Star Trek episode. ''It was the one where I whipped off my shirt and accosted everyone on the Enterprise with my fencing abilities.''
SECRET AMBITION For Oka, it's directing. For Takei, it's equal rights for gays and lesbians. And one more thing: ''I want an Oscar.''
