Masi Oka News

So Peter can only absorb one power at a time.

And Hiro can stop time, but he cannot travel through it.

The altering of various abilities has left a few Heroes fans confused; but in a new interview with TV Guide, Masi Oka tries to explain what the show is doing.

"There are basically two directions," said Oka. "A lot of people are getting new levels to their powers. Like Matt Parkman, who can now draw the future. But people like Peter and Sylar perhaps have become too powerful, so they're trying to scale it back down."

In the following video, Adrian Pasdar and Masi Oka talk Heroes.

Among the points covered by the actors:

• What it's like to work with Emmy-winner Zeljko Ivanek ("The Hunter");
• A change of structure around episodes 17 and 18, as the show focuses more on the stories of individual characters.

Watch and enjoy:

Masi Oka is aware of the criticism Heroes has received over the last year.

In a new interview, the man that portrays Hiro responded to it:

The last cycle of episodes, the "Villains" arc, got a bit of a critical beating, though most fans thought it was redeemed by the last couple of episodes. What can we expect with the new volume?
Pretty much, to be exact, we're going to go back to the fundamentals that made the show really great and what's kept it grounded, with it going back to the central characters and trying to tell smaller stories, but with big action. There's going to be more character-based [stories] as we see them finally come together towards the end to try to save themselves.

What will Hiro be up to in this new arc?
What's interesting about Hiro is he starts off powerless. I find it actually interesting to play a powerless character, because you kind of get the joy of rediscovering that power and what it means to be a hero without powers. So having someone who had had powers and going to someone who's powerless is an interesting character mindset. You kind of fall from grace in many ways. So it's about adjusting to that, and how do you live your life knowing that once you were a hero and that you can still be a hero by helping others ... and possibly trying to get the powers back?

Now that Hiro and Ando have dug up their long-time nemesis, Adam Monroe, what do future Heroes episodes have in store for this duo?

Kristin from E! Online went to the ideal sources for such a question: Masi Oka and James Kyson Lee. Here are highlights of what they had to say:

Is Ando really a villain? "If I zapped him, it's probably for a good reason. But we don't know if he's turned bad, or if I've turned bad, or if he's betrayed me," Lee said of the season premiere scene that saw Ando zapping Hiro to death. 

Could Hiro become a villain? We never thought it would be possible, but Masi Oka says Hiro Nakamura could one day become evil. "I don't know if it will happen, I don't know if it has happened, but I do think it needs to go there eventually."

How will Ando acquire his abilities? "We learn this season that in order for people to obtain abilities, there has to be a combination of factors - both physical and environmental elements," Lee said. "We think the eclipse might have to do with it. Maybe the formula we are trying to find is closely linked to it, and of course Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is trying to do experiments to find out, but he's not finding the answers either."

In a recent interview, conducted prior to season three, Masi Oka promised an exciting season for Hiro and company.

He obviously wasn't kidding.

Here are a few highlights from the feature:

On critical reaction to season two: Every critic is different and people look for different things. So I don’t know if the critics are bashing for the sake of bashing it, but maybe it’s just like a continued - well continuing (stealing the hat) from Season 2. So I’m hoping that, you know, as the episodes progress that they could just go back to what made Heroes great with Season 1 and where Season 3 is headed towards, and then go back to seeing it as, you know, pure entertainment for the whole family.

On Hiro and Daphne: I’m very excited. We’re already shooting Episode 12 and there’s a lot of great shocks and, you know, twists and turns. With Hiro and Daphne, you know, Daphne is kind of like the quintessential nemesis for Hiro. As Batman gets his Joker, Hiro gets Daphne. That said, I see it more like a Wile E. Coyote and a Road Runner scenario except she said more than meep-meep and not as many Acme gadgets although you will see Hiro fall on his face a lot.

On Hiro and Ando: I think 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 back to get their original selves, hopefully very soon. But I think everyone is kind of like - because this is a season called Villains, or the volume is called Villains, we wanted to kind of put in seeds of doubt in terms of every relationship we’ve had and kind of shake up the status quo.

After reading about the villains set to infiltrate Heroes this season, let's hear from one of the men set on stopping them.

In the following video, Masi Oka previews the upcoming chapter, mostly focusing on Hiro's new nemesis, played by actress Brea Grant. Take a look and a listen:

We've reported on a number of Heroes spoilers for season three.

Future Peter likely shot Nathan; Sylar sucks Claire's brains out; and he has a son.

Below, though, you have a chance to make up our own spoilers!

E! ran into Masi Oka at the Heroes premiere party last week and asked him to go over a few key plot points for season three... in Japanese! We have no idea what the actor is saying, but it's fun to make it up as he goes along.

Last week, Milo Ventimiglia and Masi Oka proved once again why it's pretty cool to have super powers. Or at least portray characters that have super powers.

The actors spent time with fans in Sydney, Australia, promoting the second season DVD of Heroes. Follow this article's jump now to see pics of Milo and Masi in action...

Continue Reading...

According to Masi Oka, chapter three of Heroes - titled "Villains" - won't just be showcasing your basic evil character.

Everyone on the series will show a dark side.

"I think that you'll see a dark side of everybody, because being a hero or villain is very subjective," Oka said in an interview at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour. "Each human being has the ability to become a hero or a villain. It's the choices that we make every day, and that can be influenced by the things around us."

On the upcoming season, Oka's Hiro will be faced with a new personal enemy: Daphne, aka "Speedster," played by Brea Grant.

"She's Hiro's nemesis," Oka said. "And every time Hiro sees her, he calls her his nemesis. And she's great. She's very spunky. She's a speedster. It's kind of like Batman has his Joker; Hiro has his Daphne."

The actor added:

"Brea's fantastic. She came from Friday Night Lights. She's such a joy to work with. We had a chemistry test, and I loved working with her, and we have so much fun working together. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it as well."

Masi Oka - seated alongside actor Sean William Scott - is either having a great time at a recent New York Knicks game... or he's laughing at the horrific on-court play of this once proud franchise.

With no new Heroes episodes currently scheduled, the actor (sadly) finds himself with loads of free time.