Masi Oka & Santiago Cabrera

Masi Oka

In the SciFi Channel’s fantastic new show HEROES, which has its UK premiere on February 19, Masi Oka plays a Japanese fanboy who can control time. His character is one the target audience will be able to identify with the most. However, his performance is so good that he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor in a TV Show in this year’s Golden Globe Awards. Apart from acting he is also a musician and is a CGI special effects wiz for George Lucas’s ILM.

SFL: Can you tell us a little bit about your character and what his powers are?

MO: My character is Hiro Nakamura. He’s an office drone in Japan and he’s a big comic book enthusiast. He learns that he can bend time and space, so teleportation and chronokinesis, and he’s just absolutely exhilarated with the fact that he can do this. It’s been his dream all along and he’s so happy that he’s been chosen.

SFL: Your character is a big sci-fi and comic book fan, which makes most of the audience easily identify with him. Is this a trait you can relate to?

MO: I believe so. I am definitely a big enthusiast of science fiction and special effects. I grew up with Japanese Manga (Japanese comics), so I know a lot about the Manga world.

I really, really love the character and I believe the writers are doing an amazing job writing Hiro and bringing who I am into the character and extending me in terms of being a big comic book enthusiast. HEROES is a big extension of who I am.

SFL: There is an online graphic novel which goes hand-in-hand with the series. How important is this to the show? How does it feel to see yourself in cartoon form?

MO: I think it’s just absolutely wonderful. When we went to the comic convention, we had a screening of the pilot episode and we knew we had something absolutely special and magical when we saw the fans’ reaction. We knew we hit it right on the head and that we had served the comic book community really well. And you know, in particular with Hiro being the comic book enthusiast as he is, he’s somewhat the representative for that voice of comic book fans. To have him as part of a comic book too is just absolutely thrilling, both in support of the character and for myself.

SFL: You worked on special effects before becoming an actor. Do you find yourself looking over people’s shoulders as the effects are produced for the show?

MO: Absolutely, anytime I could! Our special effects team have done an amazing job with the pilot and all the episodes coming up. It’s really wonderful.

It’s always fascinating because special effects are part of what makes the magic behind the movies. I’m like a kid watching all these cool things happen, even the green screen excites me.

SFL: What has been the most exhilarating aspect of the production?

MO: The script is always both surprising and exhilarating. Every week we get something new. Every question they ask, they answer it but they also ask another question. It’s a constant rollercoaster going up and down.

You read the script and think, “Oh my God, wow. Wait a minute, that’s how it ends? No wait, come on, where’s the next script?” You get the next script and it’s like, “Oh my, that is just absolutely brilliant. I would have never thought of that!”

It’s a constant rollercoaster. That’s always been surprising how brilliant the minds of our writers are, they constantly top themselves week after week.

Santiago Cabrera

Santiago Cabrera plays Isaac Mendez, a heroin-addicted artist whose dark, violent and apocalyptic paintings are actual premonitions of future events. He also draws the comics that initially guide Hiro.

Cabrera was born to a Chilean diplomat so he grew up all over the world, London, Romania, Toronto and Madrid. So, in addition to his native Spanish language, he is fluent in English, French and Italian.

Before becoming an actor, Cabrera originally planned on becoming a soccer player. He played soccer for three years on college scholarships in Chile and played semi-pro in London. While in London he trained for three years at the Drama Centre, and went on to perform on the stage before moving on to television and film.

SFL: Your character seems to struggle with his ability. Do you think he could be using it to better effect?

SC: I think it depends on whether you’re in control of it or not. That’s the interesting thing about this character’s premonitions. At that moment, he’s not conscious of what he’s doing. It’s a pretty freaky thing. There’s this question of, “What is this evil that is coming from inside me?” and also a sense of, “Why is this all happening?”

But obviously, if you’re in control of it and you can put it to good use, then that’s a different story. That’s the great thing about this show. It starts from the very beginning with everyone discovering these things for the first time.

SFL: When you play Isaac, are you as confused as the character because you do not know how the story pans out?

SC: That’s the fascinating thing about working this way. It’s not every day that, as an actor, you don’t know the whole story. You’re like the audience in that way, so you have to bring that to your performance. It’s different and it’s interesting at the same time. You have to play in the moment and create that confused state of not knowing what’s going to happen on screen.

It was great that everyone’s story was taken from the beginning. Everyone has their own process of discovery, which is very important for the audience.

As the episodes continue, as the audience keeps watching, the characters come together and there’ll be more of an interaction.

SFL: This is your first major role, how does it feel to hit the dizzy heights of stardom? What did you do before the show?

SC: I got here from London where I have been doing some theatre. I’ve done a couple of movies that should be coming out soon. But what a better part to get than to come straight into this?!

I did the pilot season. I remember just locking myself in an apartment, which I was staying in for a week, and reading eight pilot scripts. As soon as I read ‘Heroes’, it jumped out at me and I pursued it from the beginning because it was something very unique and I really wanted to be part of it.

SFL: Has theatre work helped with your preparation for a major TV role?

SC: There is an intensity about an actor’s preparation for the theatre, more so than other roles. The great thing about Isaac is that he has that intense quality. What attracted me to the role is that you don’t know where he’s going to go, he’s full of surprises. Isaac has many layers and a depth about him. It certainly helped me to have delved into that level of preparation before because we want to try and reflect that same intensity and add some variation to it.

SFL: Were you a fan of comic books when you were growing up?

SC: I have to say I didn’t really grow up with comics, apart from Asterix. But I immediately got together with Tim Sale, who’s the comic book artist, and was introduced to that world. He also does my character’s painting. I have been reading his comics and have really enjoyed them. He works with Jeff Loeb, who’s also a writer on the show.

My character is a comic book artist himself so I’ve been reading books and I’ve become really hooked on Daredevil actually. I think it’s fascinating, that whole world. I can see why people get obsessed on it, it’s very gritty.

SFL: How do you feel about the phenomenal success that the show has achieved already in the US?

SC: When I was reading it, I thought that if what comes off the page is translated on to the screen then we’re onto a winner. You’re always hoping that, but I’m not surprised that there’s been this reaction because it really is a unique show. It’s like nothing else, very different and edgy. And it’s great to see this response. It’s like a prize for the all the hard work behind it.

To celebrate the release of the fantastic new series we have 10 HEROES anoracks (the jackets – not geeks) to give away. Go to the competitions section of the forum for full details.