Grant Masaru Imahara is an electronics and radio control expert, best known for his work
on the American television show MythBusters.
Biography Imahara is a graduate of the University of
Southern California, with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering.
For a time, he seriously considered switching majors, with the intention of becoming a screenwriter;
he decided to stay on the engineering track after assisting Tomlinson Holman, a professor
at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
He is in a relationship with Jennifer Newman.
Career Early work
After graduation, Imahara was hired as an engineer for Lucasfilm's THX division; he
then moved to the company's visual effects division, Industrial Light and Magic, where
he worked for nine years.
While at ILM, he was involved in films such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars:
Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Galaxy Quest, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Star Wars Episode
II: Attack of the Clones, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Matrix Reloaded, The
Matrix Revolutions, Van Helsing, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Imahara is credited in many feature films as a model maker.
In particular, he is credited for his work in updating the aging R2-D2 robots for the
Star Wars prequel trilogy.
As an official Artoo Technician, he makes a cameo appearance in the mockumentary R2-D2:
Beneath the Dome.
MythBusters
Imahara joined MythBusters on the invitation of friend and occasional employer Jamie Hyneman
and former ILM colleague Linda Wolkovitch, who is now an Associate Producer of MythBusters.
He joined as the third member of the Build Team, replacing former MythBusters welder
Scottie Chapman.
His colleagues often, jokingly, refer to him as the geek of the Build Team.
He often makes the robots that are needed for the show and otherwise specializes in
operating the computers and electronics for the myths.
On August 21, 2014, Hyneman and MythBusters co-host Adam Savage announced that Grant,
along with cast members Kari Byron and Tory Belleci, would be leaving the show.
Other work In addition to his role on MythBusters, he
is known for his appearances on BattleBots, where he designed and competed with his robot
Deadblow.
He had a cameo appearances on Syfy's Eureka and the web series The Guild.
Other well-known works include designing the circuit that creates the rhythmic oscillation
of the arms of the modern Energizer Bunny; leading Team ILM to victory in an appearance
on Junkyard Mega-Wars; as well as authoring Kickin' Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building
Combat Robots, considered to be a definitive reference in robot construction.
Imahara was a cast member and story writer for the short film Architects of Evil, created
for the 2004 Industrial Light and Magic Backyard Film Contest.
He mentors the Richmond High robotics team Biomechs #841 for the FIRST Robotics Competition,
lending his expert guidance on how to create the right robot for the right job.
Imahara was profiled in the magazine IEEE Spectrum, in an issue focusing on engineering
dream jobs.
The article was titled "Grant Imahara: Debunker in The Box.; he is shown in a fire resistant
suit on the cover.
One of Imahara's independent projects, during early 2010, was constructing a robotic sidekick
for Craig Ferguson, host of The Late Late Show.
The robot, named Geoff Peterson, was unveiled on the April 5, 2010 Late Late Show episode
and is controlled and voiced by comedian and voice actor Josh Robert Thompson.
Imahara was one of the players in the first episode of TableTop on the Geek & Sundry channel
on YouTube on April 2, 2012 and made an appearance on the channel's show Spellslingers, hosted
by Sean Plott.
He made a cameo appearance on the final episode of Eureka, aired on July 16, 2012.
Imahara portrayed Mr. Sulu in the web series Star Trek Continues episodes "Pilgrim of Eternity"
and "Lolani".
Imahara was interviewed on TWiT's Triangulation on 25 September 2013.
Imahara is set to play Lt. Masaru on the upcoming Star Trek Renegades.
References
External links Grant Imahara's biography from the Discovery
Channel Grant Imahara: Debunker in The Box
Grant Imahara at the Internet Movie Database Grant Imahara on Myspace
Grant Imahara on Twitter AArisings A-Profiler Interview Published March
17, 2007 Architects of Evil short film at vimeo.com
Grant Imahara’s Hollywood Dream Machines on Makezine.com