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Posted:
23:33:48 on September 26 2001
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: People
Actress Linda Park ('Hoshi Sato') chatted live at SCIFI.com earlier this evening and here's a transcript:
Hi everyone, thanks for joining us. I'm Patrizia DiLucchio for SCIFI. A hour from now Star Trek fans will get their taste of ENTERPRISE, the fifth series in the Trek franchise that has so fascinated science fiction views for nearly thirty-five years. ENTERPRISE differs from the shows that come before it, in that it examines mankind's first interstellar journeys -- long before the birth of enduring Trek characters like James T. Kirk.
This evening we are pleased to welcome actress Linda Park who plays Communications Officer Ensign Hoshi Sato aboard the Enterprise. Ensign Sato is a woman with an extraordinary gift for languages.
Linda Park grew up in San Jose, California and studied acting in Boston. A relative newcomer to television, she has worked on the stage and appeared in the series Popular, and more recently in this last summer's mega-hit Jurassic Park III.
Welcome Linda!
LP: Thankyou very much.
This evening Star Trek viewers will meet Hoshi Sato for the first time. What do you think their first impression will be?
LP: Well I hope that they find in Hoshi someone they can relate to as if they were out on a date for the first time. Or maybe for the second time. A little bit awed and nervous. The technology isn't quite as advanced as it is with Voyager. It's going out for the first time! Hopefull they'll be able to relate to her and enjoy her enthusiasm. She has a lot of life to her, a lot of energy that I hope audiences will find very refreshing. I hope audiences take to her.
Linda, how do you feel acting in a cast very heavily outnumbered by the men?
LP: Well it can be really fun! Actually the majority of my friends are male and many of them are very testosterone-driven. It really adds to the chemistry because Jolene (who plays P'ol) are very strong. There's a lot of friendly gender-battles that go on.
How did you become involved with Enterprise?
LP: Well, I'm an actress so I auditioned for the part! There's a process that you go through in any TV show audition. The network chose me to portray Hoshi. And here I am.
Is Season One still in production? If so can you tell us about the episode you're filming now?
LP: We are still filming Season 1. The episode that we're on now, we get to meet some more Boomers who are humans that grew up in space on a cargo ship. And Anthony -- who plays Mayweather -- is a Boomer.
Linda several people have asked what it was like working onn Jurassic Park?
LP: It was my first job in LA. It was very intimidating. I had been living in LA for less than a month and I found myself working with Laura Dern and Sam Neill. They are incredibly generous and humble. That experience really set me off on the right foot as far as the right attitude to have in this business.
Do you worry at all that working in a science fiction series that will undoubtedly run for years, and then years more in syndication with any way type cast you as an actress? Or is it more like winning the lottery -- will the security that comes with Star Trek allow you to broaden your acting horizons?
LP: I'd like to believe the latter. I definitely feel that it's in my hands to define who I am as an actress. And even if it may be a challenge, I don't believe in letting other people define you or put you in a box. You have to define yourself.
The bridge of the Enterprise in its various incarnations has felt like home to several generations of Star Trek viewers. Of course in reality it's a set on sound stage at Paramount. What would surprise viwers the most about the set if they were really standing there at the Com Station?
LP: I would say one of the most frustrating things is that the buttons don't really push down. It took a while to get used to pressing buttons that don't press! * LindaPark laughs
could you describe what your character is like in the new series
LP: Hoshi is very human in the way that she expresses what she feels and she holds very little back. She's very passionate about what she loves, and very vehement about her dislikes. She has a lot of fears to overcome. But what I love about her is how much heart she has.
I heard that enterprise is going to be aired in letterbox is that true?
LP: The pilot, yes, will be aired in letterbox.
Because Enterprise tells the story of humanity's first voyages into interstellar space one theme is certainly how we learn to view cultures alien to our own. You were born in Korea. How old were you when you came to California and do you think that your own experience in moving from one part of the world to another left you with some insight on how people adapt to new cultures -- experiences that you can draw on as an actress?
LP: I actually moved to the United States when I was less than a year old so my memories are very vague. But I grew up in a very racially diverse community in which there was equal part understanding and equal part ignorance. Viewing different ways that people react to what may seem like a strange culture says a lot about the good and bad in human-kind. And it's that diversity in humans that helps me not only have insight acting on ENTERPRISE but also in everyday life.
I hear there will be a large on-giong story throughout the whole series, is this true? It would certainly be a change from the single episode Voyager style.
LP: Yes, that is true. And you will meet our recurring nemesis, the Suliban tonight on the premiere.
What is your job as translator? Assuming you know Vulcan, they can't expect you to learn other alien languages quickly enough to help, can they?
LP: Hoshi has an almost savant level ability with languages. Her mind adapts to different linguistic formats very quickly. There has been an episode where she literally has to learn a language in a day. And is called upon to converse in that language with another alien. It's not always easy but the universal translator is still a bit primative and doesn't work a lot of the time.
Growing up did you watch any of the earlier Star Trek series, or other science fiction?
LP: I did watch Next Generation. And I was a big fan. But I would have to say my love is scifi books. One of my favorite authors is Ray Bradbury, and MARTIAN CHRONICLES is one of my favorite books. And funnily, I was a huge fan of QUANTUM LEAP.
Linda, I know your time is short, so we'll make this the last question... in star tre: first contact, the human race makes contact with the vulcans. i assume that earth has had close contact with the vulcans in the time sice that meeting. what is the relationship between the human race and the vulcans?
LP: There is a lot of tension between the two. The Vulcans have the very superior attitude that they've always had over humans, and humans themselves have a bias against Vulcans. There are references made in the series to children in elementary school making Vulcan characatures.
Let's end with one more question Tomorrow when you walk down th street a lot people are going to recognise you... Have you given much thought to how that will feel as an artist?
LP: There are already lots of billboards of ENTERPRISE all around LA -- and that's a very bizarre experience to see yourself up on a billboard. Part of me would like to hold on to normalacy and just go on living my life in anonymity. But it also is an exciting and flattering thing to have people recognize me or ask for my autograph.
Linda thanks for a great chat! We hope you'll come back and talk with us again. And now of those on the East Coast...there's just enough time to pop some popcorn and settle in for ENTERPRISE. Good night everybody
LP: Thanks for having me. This was fun. Goodbye everyone.
