The Helpful Advice George Takei Gave John Cho Before Making Star Trek

It’s always a challenge taking on an iconic role when it has been played to near perfection by a different actor. That original characterization burns a place in pop culture, and the new person is trying to change it, to reshape it, and to make it his or her own. So when John Cho was preparing to play Sulu in J.J. Abrams’ retooled Star Trek back in 2009, he picked the brain of George Takei – the only person who truly knew what it was like to play Sulu – and received this very specific ad...