EPICANTHUS

The reason that Aaron Takahashi’s face seems familiar is the hilarious “Busted” TV spot for Amp’d Mobile he shot in 2006. It’s the one where the Asian dude rocks out in the men’s room to E-40′s My Ghetto Report Card cut “U and Dat.” Since then Brutha Takahashi been blowin’ it up!

He’s Everyman, the Gardena boy-made-good, class clown, comedic genius, Asian American sex symbol—his MySpace page says— (MySpace?)— Facebook reveals that he grew up in the South Bay Japanese American Gardena-North Torrance ghetto, that he attended North Torrance High School in the Eighties and USC as a creative writing/English major; that he claims to be 5-7, so he’s probably closer to 5-5; he’s a shape-changing Gemini who’ll celebrate his 40th birthday in May. Obviously, this playa don’t know about Mark Zuckerberg’s latest privacy options, SMH. So here are Takahashi’s home address, e-mail and cell number.

Although Takahashi remained totally unhip up through college (Daaaum, he was president of the Asian Greek Council.) His career turned a corner in 2002 with a small part in Justin Fast and Furious Lin’s breakout Asian American film Better Luck Tomorrow, and a couple of years later he got paid for minor roles in Memoirs of a Geisha and Only the Brave, a docudrama about the legendary Japanese American WWII 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Today, no one mentions that nine-year gap on our boy’s resumé. Just when it looked like he’d have to start stocking shelves at the Mitsuwa Market on Western, Aaron lucked into a recurring character role on Reno 9-1-1— Apparently, it’s tough out there for a pimp.

The year 2008 proved momentous for our Japanese American hero. Takahashi got a screenwriting credit and the title role in the straight-to-DVD classic Robert Hearts Miss Ing, braving a tough location shoots in the wilds of Fullerton, Calif. But that’s how Aaron roll.

But show bidness be a cold muthafucka. After being graced by Takahashi’s Midas touch, Reno 9-1-1 got cancelled, and what seemed like a gem of a role in a Jim Carrey comedy Yes Man bombed big time. So you’ll probably find Aaron keeping sharp with the Asian American improv group Cold Tofu and making do as a surreally entertaining manic-depressive sous chef on board the Kogi Taco Truck.

• Why As a Matter of Fact, I AM Aaron Takahashi, MySpace
• Aaron Takahashi, Facebook
• IMDb Listing: Aaron Takahashi
• Ixnay: The Play That Could’ve Been, Jordan Ikeda, The Rafu Shimpo