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'Heroes' star works for Lucas

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi

On the NBC series "Heroes," Hiro Nakamura, played by Masi Oka, can control time and teleport. In real life, Oka has the ability to control anything he wants in the digital world.

Oka, it turns out, has a really cool day job.

He happens to be a computer programmer of physics animation software, and works for Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects house owned by George Lucas.

Oka started with the company shortly after graduating Brown University, where he earned a degree in computer science and mathematics, according to his NBC bio.

He worked on the "Star Wars" trilogy and "Pirates of the Caribbean." Oka now maintains a part-time position with Industrial Light and Magic as a research and development technical director working up to three days a week, according to the New York Post who first reported on Oka's super powers.

See, and you thought all actors were stupid.