Masi Oka at the NBC All-Star Party held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on July 20, 2008.

MediaBlvd Magazine> There was some critical backlash for the premiere episode this season, even though everyone said how fantastic the episode was when they showed it at Comic-Con. Do you think the critics bashed it just for the sake of bashing it?

Masi Oka> Oh, I don’t know. Every critic is different, and people look for different things. When we premiered at Comic-Con, it was exactly the same episode that we aired on the broadcast. At Comic-Con, there was this great buzz and everyone loved it. But, after not seeing the show for nine months, they were excited to see something great. They wanted more story, a faster pace, a lot more action, and a lot of focus on the original characters, and that’s what we focused on. The writers and the production staff all feel that we delivered, based on what the fans wanted. I don’t know if the critics bashed it, just for the sake of bashing it, but maybe it was just continued feelings from Season 2. I’m hoping that, as the episodes progress, they will just go back to what made Heroes great with Season 1. It is pure entertainment for the whole family.

MediaBlvd> Are you happy with the scripts you’ve seen for Season 3?

Masi> Yeah, absolutely! I’m very excited. We’ve already shot Episode 12, so we’ve gone pretty far. There are a lot of great shocks, and twists and turns. Overall, the pacing is really fast and there is a lot more action. It’s a lot of fun.

MediaBlvd> What can you say about the relationship between Hiro and Daphne ( Brea Grant)?

Masi> Daphne is the quintessential nemesis for Hiro. As Batman gets his Joker, Hiro gets Daphne. I see it like a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner scenario, except that there are not as many Acme gadgets. You will see Hiro fall on his face a lot. 

MediaBlvd>  As Hiro gets more information and experience, is it hard to keep the balance of the happy, naive, enthusiastic person we met, at the beginning of the series, with the weight of the experience and the tragedy he’s had, and make it seem like he’s growing without making him grow too tragic?

Masi> Oh, absolutely! That’s an important balance to have, and the writers are very conscious of that. But, what makes Hiro great is his enthusiasm. One thing we know about Hiro is that he’s always going to be very pure. No matter what it is, he’s going to do what he feels is right, in terms of saving the world. His naivete might have gone away because of all the tragedy he’s experienced, but his purity and his sense of morality will always stay the same, along with his childlike sensibility. There will always be some sort of wonderment. We’ll see him, as he goes through various locations, and he’ll find some wonderful discovery, wherever he goes. Also, the writers have actually come up with a very creative way of rediscovering the power, and we’ll see that later on in the season. It’s definitely a difficult balance. Hiro and Ando have always been the comedic relief. We want to makes sure we have some of that entertainment, on the fun side and the light side of saving the world, to balance the dark tones of the rest of the storyline.

MediaBlvd> Did you think that the fun side for your character was lost last season?

Masi> I don’t know if it was completely lost. We interjected it where we could. In Feudal Japan, there was a lot of fun to be had with Kensei’s dynamic. When we got back, it was very grave. Hiro found out about his father’s death. When you deal with your father’s death, it’s difficult to make light of that. It is a comic book style of storytelling. We do want to be able to put in light moments where we can, when appropriate. We may have lost it a little bit, but at least, as an actor and as the writers, we are conscious about throwing in those little jokes that lighten the mood. There is humor within tragedy. We have to be able to laugh at ourselves to be able to celebrate life.

MediaBlvd> What are the challenges that you’re having this year, as an actor? Is there more stunt work for you?

Masi> There’s definitely a lot more stunt work. It’s a lot of fun being put in a harness and just walking in the air. I feel like Mary Poppins. But, the biggest issue is trying to gauge where it’s appropriate, in terms of putting in that humor. That’s where I rely on the directors and the writers to say, “That’s a little bit too much. That seems inappropriate here.” I don’t want Hiro to be completely masterful of English because you want room to grow, but at the same time, time has progressed. And, Hiro’s timeline is so out of whack. Hiro’s biological time hasn’t moved as far, even if he has gone to Feudal Japan and come back. For him, it’s been three weeks or a month, even though it’s been a good 400 years. Just being able to keep that continuity has been difficult for us.

MediaBlvd> Can you talk a little bit about the importance of family to Hiro?

Masi> The most important thing to Hiro is definitely his family and his friendships, as well as being a hero and saving the world. That’s what his family has taught him. His father, in particular, and his mother, taught him the values of being a good person and a good servant to civilization, sacrificing himself for the world.

MediaBlvd> Are we going to see his sister again, or will his mom be revealed?

Masi> To be honest with you, I don’t know what Hiro’s sister is doing. I would presume she’s very busy running the company. Hiro is the CEO, and Kimiko is the President, so she actually is the day-to-day, hands-on person. We haven’t seen her yet, but we will see Hiro’s mother. I don’t know when, but we will see Hiro’s mother this season.

MediaBlvd> Since you were a comic book and sci-fi fan before you were cast in the show, how has it been to see the online comics and graphic novels? What’s it like to have your image drawn by legendary comic artists, like Alex Ross, Tim Sale and Mike Turner?

Masi> Oh, my god, it’s such an honor. The online comics on NBC.com are absolutely brilliant because, even when we had the writers’ strike, they had original content, every week. It’s a great way to give the fans a continuity and some back-story to a lot of the things that we don’t get to see on the air. It’s a great way of filling in the gaps. That’s where a lot of the fans’ imagination can grow. It’s a great thing to see the comics, and I love seeing them. Just to be drawn by these folks, it’s such an honor. I got excited when I had a caricature drawn of me at a bar mitzvah, so to have these amazing, legendary artists draw me, who would have thought it? As a comic book reader, it’s something that I’m very proud of, very happy about it and very grateful for. At the same time, I have these action figures and bobble heads. What more can a guy ask for? Maybe underoos.

MediaBlvd> How have comics, like Watchmen, The X-Men or Harbinger, influenced the show? And, what it’s like to have a comic luminary, like Jeph Loeb, heading up the ship?

Masi> I think it’s really important because our series is based on comic book storytelling. A lot of the characters are comic book archetypes, and the plot does come a lot from the comic book universe. There might be a re-telling of similar stories because comic books are told in certain ways. It’s open-ended and it’s very fast, in the way it moves. Having someone like Jeph Loeb, with that kind of sensibility, works so greatly in our favor, in terms of telling the kind of stories we want to tell on Heroes and the pace we want to tell them in.

MediaBlvd> Is Hiro going to have a love interest this season?

Masi> I don’t know yet. That’s always up in the air. Personally, as a fan, I like Hiro and Charlie’s love story. Hiro spent six months with Charlie, and that love story is something that’s pure. We don’t want to compound on that too much. That being said, you never know what’s going to happen. There could be a love story up ahead for Hiro. Everything is up in the air.                        

MediaBlvd> Have you read the book about Charlie and Hiro, called “Saving Charlie”?

Masi> Yeah, and I thought it was a great way to fill in that story. I learned a lot about my character through that, too. Hiro actually got pretty randy in that one. But, ultimately, if there is an end for Hiro, my poetic ending for him would be to live in an infinite time loop, living his time with Charlie, over and over again. There’s definitely something sweet about that love story, and it’s very hard to top that.

MediaBlvd> The Heroes fan base is extremely devoted to you guys. Have you ever had die-hard fans come up to you on the streets and actually think that you have these powers, in real life?

Masi> Yeah, sometimes they do. It is quite interesting. I hate to be crass, but the most awkward times are when you’re in the restroom. I’ve had fans recognize me, and they’ll come into the restroom with me and watch me, for lack of a better word, take a leak. I’m like, “It’s not like my urine stops time, or anything. Can you can please not stare at me while I go to the bathroom?” I don’t think they believe I can teleport, but people do ask me to do things. Personally, I think I can actually stop time because every time I go into a room and tell a bad joke, time freezes.

 MediaBlvd> If you really could stop time, do you have something in particular that you’d want to stop? Would you want to stop right before you get in a traffic jam, or is there an embarrassing moment you wish you could have stopped before it happened?

Masi> I think about that all the time. If there was a way to get out of a traffic jam, that’d be great. There are moments where you wish it could last forever. Especially when I go to a different location, it would be nice just to stop time and really absorb the surroundings. We live in such a fast-paced society that it is important to stop and smell the roses at times. It would be nice to just be able to stop time and get away from it all for a second, and just really appreciate where you are in life, with the economic down-turns and what’s going on with the environment. It would be nice to be able to appreciate that moment. I think all of us would love to just stop time and take a moment to breathe.

MediaBlvd> The promo for Volume 3 said that in every hero, there could be a villain. What would you do, if you found out that Hiro was a villain?

Masi> I don’t know. I would go and smack some sense into him. Hiro is very pure. The naivety has gone away, but he’ll do what he believes is right, even though sometimes what he believes might not be the right thing. He’s very susceptible to a lot of things. He’s very gullible, but he would never do anything that’s morally wrong, in his mind, because he follows a basic conduct of heroism. He goes by the bible of the comic book. That being said, we’ve seen what happens to various heroes that have gone to the dark side. Villain and hero are very relative. What is good and what is evil? In the villain’s mind, what the good people do is evil. Maybe from society’s perspective, it’s clear to see who is good and who is a villain. But, from a personal perspective, a villain sees the world very differently. It’s an interesting moral question. I have faith in Hiro that, in his heart, he’s always going to be a good guy, no matter what he does.

MediaBlvd> The last time you caught up with Adam Monroe (David Anders), Hiro was stopped from killing him. Since he’s immortal, how would Hiro kill him, if he got him alone?

Masi> The way Hiro encased him was pretty cold, in retrospect. He just put him in the coffin. And, the way it was edited, it made it a very dark decision. There was actually a lot more to that, based on what we had as an ending, but because of the writers’ strike and the way it was edited, it just seemed like a really harsh decision that was made. We’ve seen that everything is related to the spinal cord, in terms of immortality. In Season 1, we saw Claire going through a state of mortality, in that sense. So, maybe that’s the way to kill Adam Monroe.

MediaBlvd> In one of the flash forwards, viewers saw Ando killing Hiro, and now it seems like Hiro obviously doesn’t trust his best friend as much as he did, before that. Do you think they will get back to where they were before?

Masi> I think so. The writers wanted to introduce a little bit of a different dynamic between Hiro and Ando, just to start things off. We will see them get back to their original selves, hopefully very soon. Because this volume is called “Villains,” we wanted to set in seeds of doubt, in terms of every relationship we’ve had, and shake up the status quo. So, the writers intentionally put that in.             

MediaBlvd> Is there any chance that Ando is really doing the right thing, and Hiro is maybe in the wrong?

Masi> It got edited down to be a little bit more ambiguous, but the way it was written was that Ando was actually on the evil side. That was the original vision of it. We shortened it for time’s sake. There was a betrayal. He got money for the formula. That was the back-story that was given to me. But, the way it was edited, it was left up to interpretation. This is a future that we’re going to prevent from happening, so you never know what’s going to happen. It could be reversed.

MediaBlvd> Hiro can stop time, slow it down and teleport. Which of his powers do you think is the most useful?

Masi> Living in L.A., I’d probably say teleportation because the traffic is awful here. It would be nice just to teleport to places in L.A. That would probably be the most useful.

MediaBlvd> If you could have any power on the show, besides stopping time, which one would you want?

Masi> Peter’s power because he can do everything.

MediaBlvd> A lot of the characters have gotten better handles on their powers, as time has gone by. Are we going to see a leap in Hiro’s powers, or see him use them in a new or unique way?

Masi> Possibly. The writers are definitely very creative about how Hiro uses his power. It’s a very strong power. Theoretically, Hiro could just go back in time and fix everything. That’s very difficult, in terms of plot, because you’re like, “Okay, Daphne stole the paper. Why doesn’t Hiro go back five minutes earlier, and make sure he doesn’t have it?” We’re at a point where Hiro doesn’t go back in the past because he knows it’s going to destroy the time/space continuum and something wrong will happen. In terms of his powers, I don’t know how much more Hiro can really power up teleportation and time travel. He’s more accurate with his time travel now, so that’s definitely something. And, with the teleportation, maybe he could go further. Maybe we could have Hiro teleport to Mars, or something. That will be Season 4.

MediaBlvd> Will you be working with the Haitian (Jimmy Jean-Louis) this season?

Masi> Yes, I will. It’s always great to be working with someone new. In some senses, we feel like we’re on different shows, even though we see each other, every week on TV. We hang out with each other a lot outside, yet we rarely get to work with each other. So, it’s always fun to be working with new people because it brings a new dynamic and it re-energizes or reinvigorates your storyline. That’s always a treat.

MediaBlvd> Do you get to use your sword again this year?

Masi> To be honest, I haven’t used my sword yet. But, hopefully, there will be more opportunity to use it.

MediaBlvd> Do you still have any time to do any CGI work on the side?

Masi> Unfortunately, it’s been increasingly difficult to do that. I’m technically still an ILM employee. I’m actively involved in producing a couple of projects that involve CGI, so I’m hoping to use my employee discount when that comes around.

MediaBlvd> Since you’re obviously such a multi-talented guy, do you have any aspirations to maybe write or direct an episode of Heroes, or maybe provide them with some new visual effects?

Masi> I’m actually doing a lot of that outside of Heroes. Within Heroes, it would be great to possibly direct an episode. We’ve actually been talking about that, and I’m looking to shadow a couple episodes. Of course, our schedule is really tough, so it could get a little bit difficult. But, writing wise, what the writers do on the show is absolutely amazing. They’re way ahead of the curve. They have a great team assembled. The way they write is what’s called gang writing. Everybody writes on the episode, and then the writer on record polishes it up. So, it’s really difficult for anybody to just “write” a Heroes episode. But, fortunately, I’ve had an opportunity to exercise my writing a little, on projects outside of Heroes.

MediaBlvd> In Season 1, you had Hiro’s Blog, but that’s disappeared. Are you going to be bringing that back, any time soon?

Masi> That’s actually all on me because Hiro’s Blog is something I wrote. I wrote everything, and then I would pass it on to a producer, just to make sure it was okay. To be honest, I’ll take the blame for that because I dropped the ball, in terms of doing Hiro’s Blog this season. Last season, we couldn’t do it because it didn’t make sense, since he was 400 years before, in time. But, I’ve talked to the NBC.com folks because I am actually interested in doing it again. If we can make it work, I’ll find a way to start writing again because it was actually really fun. It’s a good, creative exercise. Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time as I had in Season 1, so it’s just a matter of time balance. I don’t want to farm it off to other people to write it for me, and then just put my name on it, because I know a lot of other character blogs are done that way. With something like Hiro’s blog, I’d feel like that was a disservice to the fans. I want to take care of that by putting my own words and creativity on it. So, if it’s to be done, I want to make sure that I’m the one doing it, rather than farming it off to someone else.

MediaBlvd> As an actor, are you satisfied with the way in which Hiro is being developed this season, versus what you got to do in Season 1?

Masi> As an actor, they’re constantly challenging me and having me do things. I know someone leaked that Hiro is going to be 10 years old. Something like that is a challenge. As an actor, it’s always challenging. As long as they keep challenging me, it’s a great learning experience. For me, it’s difficult to find the consistency because you need to drive the plot and move things forward. At the same time, the character’s actions sometimes get compromised because of that. We are a slave to the plot. If the plot dictates that we do something, sometimes we have to change what the characters do. When I watch the first three episodes, I’m like, “Hiro you’re so stupid! Why are you defying your father’s orders and doing that?” But, we needed that for the plot, so it made sense.

MediaBlvd> Is the door to the writers’ room open for you and your fellow cast members? Do you have the opportunity, if you want to, to sit down with the writers and discuss concerns or ideas about character development?

Masi> Yeah, absolutely! The writers are very collaborative. They’re very open to discussing characters, and they let you know where your characters are going. They’re very collaborative, in that sense. A lot of it also gets done in the editing. You think you shoot something, and then, when you actually see it on screen, it’s a little bit different.

MediaBlvd> What would be the one thing about your character that you would change, if you could?

Masi> I don’t know if I would change anything, except maybe make him a little less gullible. What makes Hiro good is also what leads him to trouble. If he wasn’t gullible and smart all the time, he wouldn’t get in trouble so much. But, I do like Hiro how he is.

MediaBlvd> Tim Kring said that he could understand why fans were a bit disappointed with Season 2 and how it all turned out. How do you feel so far about Season 3, and what did you think about Season 2 overall?

Masi> Season 3 is definitely a lot more fast-paced. It’s basically the writers’ answers to the feedback we received from the fans. With Season 2, I thought the writers made a bold choice. There were a lot of expectations, and the writers decided to go a different route than expected by the fans, to shake things up, and I don’t think the fans reacted the way the writers hoped for. We make the show for the fans, and that’s what’s really important to us, so the back half of Season 2 was back on pace to what we originally intended. What made Season 1 great was all of the twists and turns. So, Season 3 is going back to what the fans wanted while still following Tim Kring’s vision and the stories the writers want to tell.

MediaBlvd> What has been your most memorable moment, so far this season?

Masi> Definitely the stunts. Anytime I get put in a harness in mid-air, I personally love it because you can do a lot of play while you’re in between takes. I goof around and pretend I’m in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and I just do all those fun moves in the air. And, I finally got to work with someone, for the first time, that I’ve wanted to work with since Season 1. I can’t say who it is, but that was a very memorable moment.

MediaBlvd> What is the best thing about being in Heroes?

Masi> The best thing, without a doubt, is the people I get to meet, whether it’s my real-life heroes, my idols and my icons, in terms of the creative folks, like Steven Spielberg or Tom Hanks, that you get to meet, or whether it’s my crew members and cast mates. Also, just being able to go half-way around the world and meet people in Japan, Singapore, China and Africa, and to know that our show has touched their lives, in some way, is absolutely unbelievable. If I wasn’t doing Heroes, I would never have an opportunity to meet so many people in my life. That’s definitely the biggest thing.