'Heroes' star Masi Oka living the dream

[Emma]

Playing a comic-book-obsessed character has left Heroes' Masi Oka with less time for one of his hobbies: comic books.

"I don't get to come here often," Oka says, browsing aisles of manga, the Japanese comic-book form, in Kinokuniya, a store in Little Tokyo.

Oka, who plays geeky Japanese office worker Hiro Nakamura on Heroes (NBC, tonight, 9 ET/PT), gave a reporter a quick primer, pointing out romance and adventure stories in Japanese and English, with different comics aimed at children, teenage girls and boys, and adults. He prefers the Japanese-language imports and especially likes the work of Naoki Urasawa, whose comics include Monster.

"Hiro's a fanboy. I'm a geek. I love my manga. But Hiro is more extreme," says Oka, 31, whose character's popularity is underscored by hundreds of fan comments on Hiro's blog at nbc.com.

But manga is just one parallel between Oka and Hiro, who finds he can travel through time and space. "Hiro talks about destiny and fate. It is kind of fated that I was at the right place at the right time to be exposed to this amazing character, because there's so much of Hiro that's me," Oka says.

Both are from Japan, Oka having moved to the USA at age 6. Both have experienced employee life, although Oka's special-effects work must be more exciting than Hiro's cubicle captivity. And their stories might have made for good manga, which often centers on wish fulfillment. "Hiro gets to live his dream of being a superhero. I get to live my dream of being on a successful show," he says during an interview at a nearby plaza.

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