'To Be Takei' offers uncensored look at George Takei's life
Terry talks to George Takei of Star Trek fame about the documentary "To Be Takei"
George Takei, best known for his role as Sulu on the original Star Trek, joins guest host Terry O'Reilly to discuss his starring role in the new documentary To Be Takei.
Watch the trailer for To Be Takei, as well as the actor's favourite scene of all time, in the windows embedded below.
In the documentary, Takei shares his favourite Star Trek moment, which you can see a glimpse of in the window embeddedabove. In a scene he calls "Naked Time," he got to run around with a bout of "space madness".
Do you have a favourite Takei moment, whether from his time as Sulu or off-screen entirely? Share it with us below!
Takei is also a lateblooming activist for gay marriage rights and an internet hero with a far-reaching social media presence. The film is about his life as an actor, his often-cheeky advocacy, and his loving "pop-pop operation" with his husband, Brad.
Both Takei and his partner were enthusiastic about the film and went into it with a clear mission.
"We thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for Brad and me to contribute to humanizing the stereotype attitudes that people have about LGBT people and same-sex marriage," says Takei.
The couple also gave director Jennifer Kroot free reign to capture candid moments from their day-to-day lives.
"We didn't want a vanity project," says Takei. "And so we said, 'You have carte blanche.' We will not insist on final-cut approval."
Tearing down the barbed-wire fences
The actor's penchant for furthering social justice stems from his own experience of imprisonment and marginalization -- from being thrown into a Japanese internment camp during WWII to being typecasted in Hollywood, all the while hiding his sexuality.
"I grew up behind very real barbed-wire fences, and then the invisible barbed-wire fences of getting cast in Hollywood as an Asian-American, and then I put up my own barbed-wire fence being closeted because I wanted to protect my acting career."
He says that coming out was the turning point on his road to happiness in his professional life.
"When I talked to the press and came out, that was so liberating. I feel completely and wholly, totally myself. And that's a good feeling."
Do you have a favourite Takei moment, whether from his time as Sulu or off-screen entirely? Share it with us below!