You wanted a war? Looks like you’ve got one! This line, alongside about as many lines as there are stars in our universe, is “vintage Harry Kim.” Now you may or may not have grown up a Trekkie, engulfed in the lives of Lieutenant Spock, Captain Kirk, Scotty, Chekov, Dr.McCoy, Harry Kim, Tom Paris, Captain Janeway, Seven of Nine, and so on; however, Star Trek’s legacy has carried over into 21st century entertainment. The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper’s trademark “Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock” game was inspired by Leonard Nimoy himself. Other popular modern TV shows including Breaking Bad, Castle, Chicago Fire, Community, CSI, Dexter, and even Canada’s Worst Driver 2 have been the platform of Trek references. So for anybody living back around 1995-2000, interviewing Ensign Harry Kim would have most likely been a big, big deal. It would be akin to interviewing Benedict Cumberbatch, Dean Norris, Jonny Lee Miller, Tatiana Maslany or Corey Stoll in today’s world of entertainment. For some however, Ensign Harry Kim and the man behind his character, Garrett Wang, will always be remembered. Now, if you’re unfamiliar with Ensign Harry Kim, educate yourself!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnehAmIV9qs (volume needs to be turned up on this one!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5msgN4QEnA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq3ISHOD21M
Here are some quick facts about the man behind Ensign Harry Kim:
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Personal
– Garrett’s last name, Wang, is pronounced, ‘Wong.’
– Born in Riverside, California.
– Parents are Chinese immigrants who moved to Indiana, Bermuda, Memphis, Tennessee, and then back to his hometown, California.
– Wang moved from LA to Las Vegas in 2008.
– Wang graduated from Harding Academy High School in Memphis, Tenessee.
– Wang then moved to LA to attend UCLA where he majored in pre-med.
– He switched majors multiple times, from Biology to Political Science to History to Economics and finally Asian Studies.
– He took Asian Studies with all his upper division electives in theater.
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Career
– Best known for his role as ENSIGN HARRY KIM on Star Trek: Voyager.
– Voyager ran from 1995 to 2001.
– He was keen to participate in a new role for the 2007 fan production Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, saying, “It’s always more challenging for an actor to play the bad guy.”
– Made an appearance in the TV series All American Girl as Raymond Han.
– Named the Director of the Trek Track for Dragon Con in 2010.
– Interviewed Stan Lee at 2012 Comicon.
– Surprise speaker at Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) Exposed.
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Star Trek
– Was a science fiction fan, in particular Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica.
– Watched all the Star Trek films that came out in the theaters but never really got into Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) prior to working on Voyager.
– On three separate occasions (in a span of a year and a half) he tried to watch TNG again and it was always a repeat of “Code of Honor”. Wang considers this a good thing, as he believes if he was a huge fan of TNG, he might have been so nervous during his auditions for Voyager that he might have ended up losing the role altogether.
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Such a humble individual, Wang has been putting smiles of the faces of fans ever since he became an instrumental part of Star Trek: Voyager. Attending as many conventions as he could, he truly reached out to his fans, as a symbol of appreciation for everything they had done for him. The phrase, “I love my fans, I couldn’t do anything without them. I thank each and every one of you,” has become awfully cliché; however, with Wang, it’s simply an honest statement. Now I’m certainly not suggesting that every celebrity needs to hold a house party (well, it’d most likely be a mansion party) and invite all their fans; however, as Wang points out in the interview I conducted with him (which you can view HERE), genuine appreciation can go a long way. “You know you can spend a lifetime idolizing somebody and they can literally take two seconds for that idolization to shatter, that image is completely shattered in one meeting. So you know that’s the sad part about it.” That statement could not be more relevant in today’s society, where children, teens and adults alike, truly idolize celebrities. Remember the Beliebers? I wouldn’t exactly bet on Justin being super pleasant and genuine to meet in person. Garrett Wang has been putting smiles and creating life-long memories for his fans since 1995, what is there not to like about that? This is not some sort of paid, promotional article about Mr.Wang, it is simply my way of saying ‘thank you’ to this celebrity, this human being, for his honesty, his dedication, and the years he spent entertaining people, and pouring his heart out to his fans.
Thanks for reading, and be SURE to check out my interview with Garrett Wang HERE.
And follow the man on twitter, he is extremely entertaining!