In late August, 1994, I decided to return to acting after a one
year absence. My first audition out was for the part of an evil
Chinese spy, a guest star role on "Kung Fu." Fortunately,
I had gotten used to playing villains. I had a great time at the
audition. It was fun to perform again. I felt good but I had no
great expectations since the producers were looking at a lot of
people. A few days after the audition, my agent told me I got
the part. I was thrilled. They would put me up for twelve days
in a fancy hotel in Toronto.
I arrived at Toronto airport on a Friday afternoon. Immediately,
a man walked up to me and said, "Hi, Ronin. I'm Jeff. I'll
drive you to the studio." We got into a small Toyota. I had
had visions of a stretch limo but hell, I was happy to have a
driver.
After my wardrobe fitting at the studio, Jeff drove me to my hotel.
I settled down to relax, phoned my wife briefly then opened the
envelope I had picked up from the studio. There was an updated
script, a shooting schedule, a cast list, and various other bits
of paper. Curiously, I checked to see who would be playing my
superior officer. I found, much to my delight, that it would be
George Takei, Mr. Sulu from the original "Star Trek"
series. He would be playing the main villain of the episode while
I would be his second in command. He would be working with me
in all of my scenes. Many years ago, I had heard George give a
speech at a Star Trek Convention but had been too shy to ask any
questions. Now, I would have plenty of time for that. He would
be stuck with me all week! Heh, heh, heh...
On Monday morning, I was driven to location (some airport) at
an unGodly early hour. I met George in the trailer. We were introduced
and shook hands. He had a firm, solid handshake - a good sign.
I was surprised at how large his voice sounded. It was hard for
me to assimilate that I was actually going to be acting alongside
someone I used to watch on TV saying ,"Firing phasers, Captain."
Life is bizarre.
I found George to be a very generous actor and very easy to work
with. The crew really responded well to him. Film and TV crews
are used to seeing big stars all the time so they don't normally
get too excited when a celebrity comes on set. But with George,
it was different. I guess it's because there are so many "Star
Trek" fans working in the business. When we first got onto
set, George was mobbed by the crew. Many of the technicians rushed
forward to shake his hand. It took us a few minutes to find the
director.
The airport scenes went very smoothly so George and I had a short
work day. A driver took both of us back to the hotel in the same
car. George had the day free so we went for lunch at an Italian
restaurant. I have a large appetite but George put me to shame.
I was truly amazed. Over lunch, George told me that he was excited
to be a regular columnist for "Transpacific" magazine,
a new publication geared to the Asian-American market. As well,
he had an autobiography, "To the Stars" due to come
out soon. Patiently, I held back my questions about "Star
Trek." I imagined that he had probably been asked those questions
a million times. Besides, I quite enjoyed being treated as a fellow
professional. I didn't want to destroy the image by reverting
to an overzealous Trekkie.
After lunch, we went to several bookstores. George hoped that
"Transpacific" would be out and he could show me his
column. Apparently, the new issue had not come out yet so we spent
most of our time skulking around the stores. George wore dark
sunglasses so not many people recognized him on sight. A few did
turn their heads with a "Is that him?" expression on
their faces. However, when George started talking, people knew
right away - Mr. Sulu!
Over the course of the week, we got together for several lunches
and even went to see a movie, "Natural Born Killers."
Chris Potter, who plays David Carradine's son on "Kung Fu",
had highly recommended it so we decided to check it out. Again,
when George spoke in the line up, people couldn't help but turn
their heads. Many times, especially in restaurants, there were
autograph seekers. George was quite gracious. There was one man
that didn't know George's name. He called him Mr. Sulu and asked
him to sign his name on a napkin. George complied. I guess celebrity
has its peculiarities.
Since we were getting along so well, that Saturday we decided
to go to nearby Stratford to catch the Shakespearean Festival.
George has an aunt and uncle who live in Toronto and they offered
to drive us to Stratford. Once there, George was really beseiged
by autograph seekers. One couple was celebrating their fifth wedding
anniversary. The husband was a huge "Star Trek" fan.
He said that he had even been motivated to go into engineering
because of the show. George told me that this was not an uncommon
occurrence. I never thought a TV show could have that much impact.
The next day, we went to George's aunt and uncle's home for dinner.
I pride myself on my appetite but they all put me to shame. I
haven't feasted like that since my wedding. As luck would have
it, my CD "Inspirations" was
coming out just at the time and the manufacturer was in Toronto.
I'm happy to say that I gave George the very first "Inspirations"
CD. In return, George gave me a signed copy of his Trans-Pacific
column. Later, I got him to sign his autobiography when his book
tour hit Vancouver.
Well, we finished work on "Kung Fu" the next Tuesday.
George and I exchanged numbers and addresses. I have phoned him
on a few occasions to ask for advice. He has always graciously
returned my calls. Despite all the hardships of working in the
arts, there are some incredible perks. You just may get the chance
to meet one of your boyhood heroes. If you're really lucky, you'll
even get to eat lunch and watch "Hamlet" with him.
