Star Trek’s year-long 60th anniversary continues, and it’s not only the fans who are celebrating six decades of science fiction excellence. In fact, The Original Series icon George Takei recently took stock of his involvement in the franchise, which all began when creator Gene Roddenberry’s first episode, “The Man Trap,” debuted on NBC back on Sept. 8, 1966. And, as it turns out, Takei "desperately wanted to be a part of that show.”
Takei said in an interview published by AARP: “It was the first time that I was being asked to portray a character that was fully developed. It was a human being, not a cartoon or a stereotype. This was an identifiable, sharp, intelligent member of a Starfleet team. I desperately wanted to be a part of that show.”
60 years later, Takei clearly cemented his place in Star Trek history as one of the sci-fi saga’s most memorable actors. And his character, Hikaru Sulu, was allowed to evolve from his origins as the USS Enterprise’s helmsman in “The Man Trap” all the way to captain of the USS Excelsior in The Undiscovered Country.
After The Original Series feature films completed their run on the big screen, Takei reprised the role of Captain Sulu in the nostalgic Voyager episode “Flashback” and most recently in the Star Trek: Khan podcast, in which the must-listen audio drama recounts Khan Noonien Singh’s (Naveen Andrews) 15-year exile on Ceti Alpha V.
I’m a huge fan of Takei’s portrayal of Sulu over the years, and it’s wonderful to hear that he wanted to be a part of what became known as The Original Series so badly. For more Star Trek content and to share your own thoughts on George Takei’s character, Hikaru Sulu, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
Add us as a preferred source on Google