George Hosato Takei (born April 20, 1937) is an American actor best known for his role in the TV series Star Trek, in which he played the helmsman Mr. Sulu on the USS Enterprise (later Captain Sulu of the USS Excelsior). Most recently, he played Hiro Nakamura’s father Kaito Nakamura on the NBC television show Heroes.
Takei is also known for his baritone voice. Takei began recurring appearances as the announcer for The Howard Stern Show on January 9, 2006, after that show’s move to satellite radio.
Takei was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Fumiko Emily (née Nakamura) and Takekuma Norman Takei, who worked in real estate.His father was an Anglophile, and named him George after King George VI of the United Kingdom, whose coronation took place in 1937.
In 1942, the Takei family was sent to the Rohwer War Relocation Center for internment in Arkansas.The family was later transferred to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California. Despite this experience, the family developed a renewed dedication and remained involved in the American democratic process. He and his family returned to Los Angeles at the end of World War II. He attended Mount Vernon Junior High School, where he served as student body president, and Los Angeles High School. He enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley where he studied architecture. Later he attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he received a bachelor of arts in theater in 1960 and a master of arts in theater in 1964. He attended the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-Upon-Avon in England, and Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. In Hollywood, he studied acting at the Desilu Workshop,Takei is fluent in English, Japanese, and Spanish.
