In 1950s Hollywood there was little in the way of on-screen roles for a young Japanese-American actor, even one rubbing shoulders with Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant and John Wayne. If he wasn’t being cast in the role of stereotypical Asian bad guy, he was dubbing over B-movie monster flicks. In 1965, though, his ethnicity played to his advantage, when producer Gene Roddenberry cast him as Hikaru Sulu in a new science-fiction pilot called Star Trek, a role that would secure him lifelong fame.
Takei’s appeal has since stretched way beyond that show, though, and he has found new life as a socialmedia darling, amassing a legion of followers on Facebook and Twitter who come for witty quips and cute kittens, and stay for his razor-sharp blend of political insight and LGBT activism. Recently, he released To Be Takei, a documentary about his life with husband Brad; helmed the musical, Allegiance; and he will be in the all-star animated film, Blazing Samurai, out in August.