Anna Daniels
Saito’s career in Hollywood began with a small role in the 1976 TV movie Farewell to Manzanar, and after parlaying that appearance into a guest spot on the Korean War comedy M*A*S*H*, his phone apparently began to ring off the hook with offers to guest on just about every network television series of that era. In the ’70s and ’80s alone, Saito popped up in minor roles on shows like The Fall Guy, T.J. Hooker, Charles in Charge, MacGyver, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues, Airwolf, and Miami Vice — and that’s not even the full list.
Beginning in the ’90s, the actor began to split his time a little more evenly between television and films, thanks to a fairly high-profile feature gig in 1990 (which we’ll get to in a moment). But Saito has never stopped lending his veteran chops to minor characters on the small screen. In more recent years, you might have seen him appear on series like Law & Order: Criminal Intent (as Mr. Miyazaki), Third Watch (as Sergeant Yee), Blue Bloods (as Dennis Eng), Hawaii Five-0 (as David Toriyama), Person of Interest (as Glen), and Grey’s Anatomy (as Herschel Katano), among others.
Written by: Looper
