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To Be Takei
George Takei doesn’t shy away from digging into his remarkable career
and personal life in Jennifer Kroot’s incisive documentary. As a child
forced into Japanese-American internment camps, the
actor-turned-activist reveals the ways that racism affected him well
into his early acting career, where he played stereotypical Asian stock
characters in film and television shows. Even after landing the iconic
role of Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, Takei’s sharp eye, coupled with his
wicked sense of humor, continued to challenge the status quo well into
the twenty-first century.
Now at 76, nine years after formally
coming out of the closet, Takei and his husband, Brad, have become the
poster couple for marriage equality, highlighting homophobia through
television interviews and hilarious skits, many of which have gone viral
and garnered widespread attention. Whether dishing on William Shatner
or parodying the now-infamous comments made by Tim Hardaway, Takei
proves time and again why his presence in popular culture remains as
fresh and necessary as ever.
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