George Takei gives Sulu a calm, practical authority that we still find persuasive. His deep baritone serves animation well, though later self-referential guest appearances can ask us to enjoy recognising him without offering much else.
Fi1m perspective
On the bridge in Star Trek (1966), George Takei's Sulu looks as though he belongs there. He is a capable officer in the Enterprise's leadership team, and Takei gives that competence a reassuring steadiness. We warmed to him because he makes an Asian officer's authority seem ordinary, without asking us to congratulate the programme for it. Gene Roddenberry's series gives William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley the disagreements we have praised most, but Sulu helps make its hopeful view of people credible.
The role continued through the first six Star Trek feature films (1979–1991), with Sulu commanding the USS Excelsior in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). Giving him his own ship makes sense for a character built on reliability. Less rewarding are the later typecast or self-referential guest appearances, where recognising Takei can become the main attraction. There is pleasure in that familiarity, but it can spare a guest appearance the trouble of giving him much to do.
The voice work began with English dubbing for Japanese films in the mid-1950s, long before his later animated roles. As the First Ancestor in Mulan (1998), Takei brings that resonant baritone to family animation. Its suggestion of authority makes such casting easy to understand, and the same sound is well suited to villains. The limitation is that a voice recognised at once can encourage a production to stop there, when Sulu showed the value of giving its owner a continuing role with responsibilities.
Travis Knight's Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), in which he voices Hosato, is worth seeking out for its thoughtful treatment of loss and its willingness to frighten. Its laboured jokes and tangled quest are real drawbacks, though neither cancels the warmth of our recommendation. Takei's presence is a reason to notice it, but the film deserves attention beyond its cast list. For a fuller sense of what he brings, start with Star Trek and pay attention to the officer getting on with his work.
Biography
George Takei is an American actor best known for playing Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise, in the television series Star Trek (1966) and the first six feature films in the franchise.
Born Hosato Takei on 20 April 1937 in Los Angeles, California, to Japanese-American parents, he studied theatre at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a BA in 1960 and an MA in 1964. He has appeared in numerous other television series and films, including voice roles in The Simpsons, Futurama and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Takei came out as gay in 2005 and has been active in LGBTQ rights advocacy and Japanese-American community issues. He married Brad Altman in 2008.
