With a career spanning five decades, George Takei is known around the world for his founding role in the acclaimed television series Star Trek, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the Starship enterprise. But Takei’s story goes where few stories have gone before. From a childhood spent in a Japanese internment camp during WWII to becoming one of the country’s leading figures in the fight for social justice, LGBTQ rights, and marriage equality, George Takei is a powerful voice on issues ranging from politics to pop culture.

In 2012, Mashable.com named Takei the #1 most-influential person on Facebook. He currently boasts nearly 10 million Facebook likes and more than 1.81 million Twitter followers – and he uses these platforms to share humor, news, and his take on current events.

Currently, Takei hosts the AARP-produced YouTube series Takei’s Take, and is the subject of To Be Takei (2014), a documentary on his life and career. On his own YouTube channel, Takei and his husband Brad give viewers a peek into their personal lives in the “heightened reality” web series It Takeis Two.

In 2015, Takei made his Broadway debut in the musical Allegiance. Inspired by Takei’s own childhood experiences, Allegiance follows one family’s extraordinary journey in an untold American story of forgiveness, joy, and the redemptive power of love.