OH MY!
Starburst Magazine|February 2020
STARBURST catches up with GEORGE TAKEI, an actor whose portrayal of Sulu in STAR TREK made him a legend and whose humanity earned him iconic status…
Jordan Royce
OH MY!

STARBURST: There was a motto on Star Trek: live long and prosper; did you think that the show would go on as long as it has?

George Takei: Ah yes, the Vulcan greeting; live long means to go on and on and on. We are not going to live long. As you know, some of our colleagues have passed on, but they have contributed to the prosperity of Star Trek. And prosper; we have six spinoff series, we call them our children, and a seventh, Picard, starts this month, and we have the 14 feature films. That’s really a phenomenon; a TV series that was low-rated for three seasons has gone on and become this sensation of 14 major budget feature films, a wall of Star Trek books. We are also action figures. So we have lived long and prospered! I see no indication of us not continuing to do so.

After The Original Series finished, the show returned in an animated form, and you were back in that - what was that like for you?

It was not as satisfying as the live-action, because then we were there on the set together, playing scenes with each other. With the animated version, when I arrived at the recording studio, Leonard might be leaving, and I would step into the booth and do just my lines. The scene might be with Leonard or with Nichelle, but it would only be me alone with my lines highlighted. Then when I’m finished and leaving, Jimmy Doohan would be coming in, so it was not a very fun way of working.

But overall there are nothing but good memories for you with Star Trek then?

This story is from the February 2020 edition of Starburst Magazine.

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This story is from the February 2020 edition of Starburst Magazine.

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