GEORGE TAKEI

Japanese American actor George Takei, born in 1937, was five years old when his family was uprooted from their home in Los Angeles and forced into incarceration camps in Arkansas and northern California. They returned to Los Angeles after World War II, and Takei enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley. While there, he discovered his love of acting through voice-over work and transferred to the University of California Los Angeles where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in theater. He is well known for his role as Lieutenant Sulu in the original Star Trek television series and movies and is a popular social-media presence as an advocate for gay rights and Japanese American groups. Takei served on the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission for President Bill Clinton and was conferred with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan in 2004. He is also chairman emeritus of the Japanese American National Museum's board of trustees and serves as chair of the council of governors of East West Players, a renowned Asian-American theater organization. Takei recently wrote a graphic memoir entitled, They Call Us Enemy, which illustrates the story of his incarceration during the war.