Patti Yasutake is an American film and television actress who is of Japanese origin. She is best known for her portrayal of Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in the Star Trek universe.Her television acting career began in 1985 with an appearance on the show T.J. Hooker alongside William Shatner, Richard Herd, James Darren and Michelle Phillips. More recently, she starred on Boston Legal alongside Trek alumni Shatner, Rene Auberjonois, Corbin Bernsen, Joanna Cassidy and Philip Weyland. She resides in Hollywood, California.
In this business you're selling who you are to a large degree; although you're playing other characters you bring those elements to the table, and it gets very limiting if producers think that a character must have strong cultural traits or must be a man or a woman. But I've been very lucky in that at times I've been cast in a role that was perhaps initially intended for a man, and it's been very nice that they'll consider other options; same thing, I think, with the cultural issue in that very often a part wasn't necessarily intended that way but then they've been open enough to consider it.
2
[on how she got the part of "Nurse Alyssa Ogawa" on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)] There was a role in sickbay, so I read for it and got the part. I thought I would probably never come back because, on the show, everybody had aged and so I'd be a little girl when they went back to real time, but on the set, that day, Jonathan Frakes said, 'Oh, you'll be back!' Then, sure enough, a few episodes, later, they called me. I guess I got a little bit of help from above or something because, had they put me on the bridge, I probably wouldn't have been with the show long!
3
[on how she got involved with Star Trek] I had been reading for the show for a number of other episodes and characters and they actually hired me at one point to be on the bridge, but I was doing a commercial and I couldn't get out of the contract; it was a multiple-day shoot and I had already gone on camera one of the days, so they weren't able to release me. I was heartbroken, because I really wanted to be on the show!
4
[on how often she worked on Star Trek] I never knew when they'd want me. When I came back the second time I worked with Jonathan again, so I thought he was a good luck charm. After that there would be a month or two in between shows, and you never knew what they were going to write down the road. So there was no expectation on my part, which was probably a healthy thing; it wasn't until I got some thread of a storyline that I really allowed myself to feel a real part of the show; to be honest with you.
5
[about her character, "Nurse Alyssa Ogawa", on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)] I told George Takei that Ogawa was his great-granddaughter, and he said, 'Not too great, please; I'm not that old!'
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Fact
1
In January of 2009, Diamond Select Toys released a 7-inch action figure in her likeness of her character, Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, from Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987).
2
Appeared at the Gala opening of "Star Trek The Tour" on January 17, 2008 in Long Beach, California.
3
Appeared on stage with Suzie Plakson at Star Trek Las Vegas Convention in August 2007.
4
Worked as the Administrative Director of the Howard Fine Acting Studio for a couple of years.
5
Ethnicity is Japanese.
6
During the last season on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), she was in a Hallmark commercial for an Enterprise Christmas ornament. She did the commercial as "Alyssa Ogawa", her character on "Star Trek". In the commercial, she is in her quarters asking the computer questions about the ornament.
$100,000
