"Star Trek Beyond" actor John Cho shared how he views George Takei, saying he was his inspiration and sees him as a "beacon" for the Asian-American community. The South Korea-born actor whose family migrated to Houston when he was six appeared on "Today" on July 27, Wednesday, to talk about his personal experience with "Star Trek."
"I just didn't see anyone on TV who looked like me," Cho said on the television show. "And then I saw George Takei being cool and piloting the spaceship on television."
In the "Star Trek Beyond" movie released on July 22, Cho returned as Hikaru Sulu, a role originally portrayed by Takei in the 1966 to 1969 original television series. The film made the actor anxious, especially with the "Star Trek" franchise celebrating 50 years of anniversary. He just wanted that it will have more than 50 more years as he does not want to let it down as he respects those who had come before them.
The latest "Star Trek" attracted more criticism from franchise purists, especially when Sulu is revealed as gay and have a husband and a daughter. One of the critics was Takei himself.
The Asian-American is confident though about the development of his character, NBC News reported. He completely respects the origins of Takei. Cho is now a gay who plays a straight character, when there was no LGBT character in the "Star Trek" universe.
"Star Trek Beyond" did not make it big on its opening weekend and experienced a huge drop on its second weekend, a definite loss for any franchise. The $185 million project dropped 59 percent in its second weekend, earning $24 million or a $105.72 million for 10-day cumulative. It earned $160.52 million cumulative worldwide, Forbes reported.
Though it gained solid word-of-mouth and strong reviews, it was not able to go beyond the fanbase. Another factor is it faces a strong competitor every single week in the summer, making it non-special.
Predecessors "Star Trek" and "Star Trek Inot Darkness" fell 42 and 46 percent. Furthermore, "Star Trek Insurrection" and "Star Trek: Nemesis" plunged 62 and 78 percent in their second weekend. For the latter, it was because of the brutal rivalry with "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."
Here's Cho in a behind-the-scenes movie interview.