Hana Hatae
| Hana Hatae | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 15, 1988 Tarzana, California, U.S. |
| Known for | Molly O'Brien in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |
Hana Rebecca Hatae (born July 15, 1988) is an American actress. As a child actress, Her first role was as Molly O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a role which she is set to reprise in the upcoming fan-made series Star Trek: Renegades.[1]
Early life
Hana Rebecca Hatae was born July 15, 1988[2] in Tarzana, California[3] to Akira Hatae, and Lisa Givner-Hatae, who met in college at Berkley. Akira had come from Japan to study English, while Lisa was pre-law, and they both worked at the same Japanese restaurant. Givner-Hatae dropped out after three years to accompany Akira to Japan as he learned to be a sushi chef. After returning to the United States, Akira worked as a chef at the Japanese restaurant, Sushi Ko, in Bel Air, California, eventually becoming the restaurant's manager. Later, he and Lisa became its owner, with Lisa running the front of the house.[4][5] Hatae has a brother, Samson, two years her senior, and a sister, Summer, nine years her junior.[4][6]
Acting and other work
As a child actress, Hatae's first and most notable role was as Molly O'Brien, the daughter of recurring characters Miles O'Brien and Keiko O'Brien on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. When auditioning for the role, Hatae entered the auditioning room by herself. According to an account related by Hatae's mother, when Hatae walked out of the room, all her mother could hear was everyone in the room laughing, which the Hataes interpreted as a positive sign. Her parents received no callback before being told she won the role. She first appeared as Molly in the episode "Rascals", though she has no memory of her time on that show. When Miles O'Brien was made a regular cast member of the spinoff series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Hatae's character became a recurring character throughout that series, appearing in a total of 11 episodes, from about ages 5 - 12. Though she had little awareness that she was playing a role at first, she came to understand that she was acting by the end of her time on the show, by which point actors Colm Meaney and Rosalind Chao, who played her parents on the show, became akin to second parents to her.[2]
After Deep Space Nine, Hatae appeared in "Polkapalooza", a 1998 episode of Family Matters, after which she stopped acting. She explained in an interview that this was due to the competitive nature of acting, and the fact that she lived far from Los Angeles, and the fact that she did not drive made auditioning difficult. She instead became involved with sports and music, playing roller hockey for years, and taking violin lessons, though she eventually stopped playing both.[2]
While Hatae was in high school, her parents relocated Sushi Ko from the Bel Air location where it had been for about 25 years to Thousand Oaks, where they live.[2][4] The restaurant suffered from the move, and after increasing debt and a lack of customers, Sushi Ko began to lose its prestige.[4] Four years after Sushi Ko's relocation,[5] In May 2009, the restaurant was the setting for an episode of the reality TV series Kitchen Nightmares, in which Chef Gordon Ramsay attempts to save failing restaurants.[2][6] Hatae and her photographer brother Sammy appear in the episode, attempting to assist in their parents' failing restaurant by working as servers.[5] The restaurant eventually closed that August due to the economy, before the episode featuring it aired in May 2010.[2][6]
As of May 2010, Hatae was working as a photography assistant in Hollywood.[6]
She returned to acting as Nurse Yagi in the movie 5th Passenger.[7] She will reprise her role of Molly O'Brien in the upcoming fan-made series Star Trek: Renegades.[1][8]
Personal life
Hatae enjoys hiking and rock climbing. One of her favorite places to hike and explore is Malibu Creek, which her family visited often in her youth. As of 2014, she was also teaching herself how to play the violin again.[2]
References
- 1 2 "Star Trek: Renegades Episodes 2 & 3". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Molly O'Brien Is All Grown Up: Hana Hatae Interview". startrek.com. July 13, 2014.
- ↑ "Hana Hatae". Metacritic. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Naman, Julia (March 18, 2014). "Pre-law student to sushi-restaurant owner: Coffee cart operator reflects". Graphic. Pepperdine University.
- 1 2 3 "Sushi Ko". Kitchen Nightmares. Season 3. Episode 11. May 14, 2010. Fox Broadcasting Company.
- 1 2 3 4 McKinnon, Lisa (May 14, 2010). "Gordon Ramsay efforts to revamp Thousand Oaks Sushi Ko restaurant to air". Ventura County Star.
- ↑ "Intiraymi's 5th Passenger Co-Stars Shimerman, Sirtis & More ". startrek.com. August 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Next Installments of 'Star Trek: Renegades' to Be Koenig's Last as Chekov". treknews.net. November 28, 2015.