Best known as the time-warping Hiro Nakamura in the sensational TV series "Heroes," Emmy Award-nominee Masi Oka shifts to the big screen in Warner Bros.' new action comedy "Get Smart" opposite Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and Dwayne Johnson (formerly known as The Rock).
Oka stars as Bruce, an engineering genius who makes up in loyalty, energy and creativity what he may lack in certain interpersonal and office skills. In the film, while Max (Carell) and Agent 99 (Hathaway) cross the globe to locate and disarm the terrorist KAOS network, secret spy agency CONTROL's Bruce of the high-tech weapons lab, keeps things running smoothly at the agency's headquarters.
Says Oka of his character, "He's the gadget guy, like Q to Bond. Bruce is passionate about his creations and proud of his service to his country. He gets no respect from the other agents, of course, but he knows the truth: he's the real heart of this operation. Without his technical know-how, those hotshot agents would just be empty suits."
Oka has earned Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations for his role in the NBC hit ensemble drama "Heroes" as Hiro Nakamura, a Tokyo nonconformist computer/anime geek who develops a way to pierce the space-time continuum and move back in time through sheer willpower.
Concurrent with the feature release of "Get Smart," Oka will also star with Nate Torrence in the companion DVD release "Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control," slated for a June 2008 release.
His additional film credits include memorable roles in "Along Came Polly" and "Austin Powers in Goldmember."
With a background in improvisation, Oka has graced the stages of The Groundlings, ImprovOlympics, Second City and TheatreSports, and his improvisational expertise has been showcased with guest appearances as various characters on "Punk'd," "Reno 911!" and "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment."
After graduating from Brown University with degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science and a Theatre Arts minor, Oka pursued an acting career while taking his first job at George Lucas' Oscar-winning special effects house Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Today, despite his successful career as an actor, he has continued to provide ILM with technology for groundbreaking effects for more than 30 films.
Born in Tokyo, Japan, Oka moved to Los Angeles at age six. He is fluent in Japanese and proficient in Spanish. He is the spokesperson for One Laptop Per Child, a charity dedicated to providing children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves.
Opening across the Philippines on June 19, "Get Smart" is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company.
