Episode 47 – Out of This World Convo With "Star Trek Voyager's" Garrett Wang - Part 1

On this episode of Hollywood Obsessed, host Tony Miros speaks with podcast host and actor GARRETT WANG who is best known for playing Ensign Harry Kim on the classic Sci-Fi TV series "Star Trek: Voyager". During their fascinating conversation Garrett tells Tony about being a huge Science Fiction fan his entire life, how watching George Takei play “Mr. Sulu” on “Star Trek: The Original Series” influenced him when he was young, why its important having proper representation on television, and in the movies, how he walked into an acting class while he was studying medicine at UCLA and caught the acting bug, the deal he made with his parents when he decided to become a full-time actor after graduating college, what it was like being an unemployed Asian actor going from audition to audition around Hollywood in the 1990s, how he had to pinch himself when he landed the iconic role of Ensign Harry Kim on "Star Trek: Voyager" -- which ran on the United Paramount Network (UPN) from 1995 to 2001 – and what it was like working with the very first Captain Janeway - who wasn’t played by actress Kate Mulgrew - on the series pilot.

GARRETT WANG

Born in Riverside, California to Chinese immigrant parents, Garrett Wang (pronounced Wong) spent his formative years on the move, living in Indiana, Bermuda and Tennessee. He moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA where he majored in East Asian Studies and minored in theater.

When Wang decided to become a full-time actor, he made a deal with his parents that he would quit after two years on the condition that they helped finance his expenses. After months of not landing anything, he managed to book a few roles in commercials. This subsequent exposure got him a guest star role in 1994 on an episode of Margaret Cho's All- American Girl as Raymond Han, who is, ironically enough, a financially stable bachelor who is also a doctor.  

A year and a half after his wager with his parents, Wang landed his most recognizable role: Ensign Harry Kim in Star Trek: Voyager, which ran from 1995 to 2001. In 1997, he was chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World". And in 2001, E! (Entertainment Television) selected him as one of the "20 Coolest Bachelors" in the country.

Outside of Voyager, he also appeared in a number of independent films and short subjects, including Angry Cafe (1995), Hundred Percent (1998), and Ivory Towers (1998). He also appeared along with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star (and "Caretaker" co-star) Armin Shimerman and Star Trek: Enterprise star Dominic Keating in the 1999 comedy The Auteur Theory. He more recently starred in the B-movie horror Demon Island. In 2005, Garrett appeared in the epic television Western mini-series Into the West, playing the role of Chow-Ping Yen, which was executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

Since 2005, Garrett has taken an extended break from Hollywood. With the exception of the occasional cameo appearance in random indie projects such as the comedy Unbelievable, Garrett has been focused on traveling the world, working behind the scenes at Dragon Con, designing scifi/fantasy inspired tee-shirts and he has been a celebrity moderator interviewing other celebrities at various sci-fi and Star Trek conventions around the world since 2008.

He currently co-hosts The Delta Flyers Podcast with Robert Duncan McNeill, who portrayed Tom Paris on Voyager.

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