George Takei Went From Playing Star Trek's Sulu To Multiple Star Wars Characters

Legendary "Star Trek: The Original Series" actor George Takei might be best known for his Howard Stern catchphrase, "Oh my," these days, but did you know he's appeared in "Star Wars" three times? Once the helmsman of one of sci-fi's greatest spaceships, Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, Takei eventually voiced characters in 2009's "The Clone Wars" show, and in the 2021 and 2025 seasons of "Star Wars: Visions," an anthology show. Since 2025, Takei has not appeared to have any further roles in the franchise lined up.

Takei's roles in "Star Wars" haven't been major, and the two roles he plays in "Visions" aren't canon to the series. That show operates outside the main continuity to allow for more freedom from the people behind each episode. In "Visions," he plays The Toad, a spiritual guide, and Senshu, a tour guide. For "The Clone Wars," his role as Lok Durd was capped at just a singular episode. Wookiepedia, a dedicated "Star Wars" fan wiki, claims that he was supposed to have a larger role, but sources cannot confirm this.

In a 2009 interview with Newsarama (now GamesRadar+), Takei joked that his voice was chosen because it sounds "obese." He said, "They showed me a drawing of the character I was supposed to voice, and the first thing I thought was 'Oh no! Not again!' because I had done the voice of the First Ancestor in Disney's Mulan. That was also a huge, enormously obese character. Lok Durd is also immensely obese."

Lok Durd was part of the Separatist movement and was eventually captured by The Republic before escaping. The character, outside of Takei, actually has some connection already to "Star Trek." Since "The Phantom Menace" introduced the Neimoidians, which Durd is, rumors have persisted that George Lucas named them as a joke after "Star Trek's" Spock actor, Leonard Nimoy.

Takei's other roles in "Star Wars" haven't been as big, with The Toad and Senshu being side characters in the stories. In his first appearance in "Visions", Takei plays a guide helping a Jedi Knight and a princess reach a castle. The Toad, meanwhile, is a spiritual guide for a blind Jedi apprentice, who helps her overcome the perils in the story with that iconic voice dishing out the gospel about the Force.

Comparing his time on the "Star Wars" cartoon shows to his time voicing Sulu in the 1970s "Star Trek: The Animated Series", it sounds like Takei much preferred acting for "Star Wars." Again, in that 2009 interview, he states that having other actors actually in the booth with him to "bounce off" helped with creating a fun atmosphere. It helps that "Star Wars: Visions" is one of the most exciting shows from the franchise as well.