Student Spotlight: Garrett Masuda

Student+Spotlight%3A+Garrett+Masuda

Calvin Ru, Staff Writer

While most people dream of meeting celebrities, junior Garrett Masuda has already worked with them. A former actor in various national commercials such as McDonald’s and Yoplait, and the face of the Japanese ghost boy in “Scary Movie 4,” Masuda has had a different childhood than most.

“Every job you work, it’s kind of different. Not only are you being someone different, you also get to meet different people,” Masuda said.

When Masuda was five years old, he took karate with a friend who worked as an actress. She piqued his interest and referred him to her agent. After a successful interview with CESD talent agency, young Masuda began his career as an actor.

Before he began to take roles in front of the camera, Masuda started off with a “print job” at Disney. A print job is any work done on paper such as magazines or flyers. The young actor modeled for companies such as Disney and later for Target, or JCPenny.

In 2006, at age seven, Masuda began his film career, playing the Japanese ghost boy in “Scary Movie 4,” a film series that parodied many horror films. He played as a spoof of Toshio Saeki from “The Grudge,” a boy who was murdered by his father and haunted his father’s house and future residents for the rest of his life.

“I was excited because I had got to film in Canada and I had a lot of really cool experiences,” Masuda said.

A year later, Masuda also depicted young Hiro Nakamura, a man with the ability to manipulate space and time, in flashbacks for two episodes in “Heroes,” a fictional TV series about people with supernatural powers.

Masuda continued to audition for various roles and soon found himself in the commercial industry. He advertised for various products such as McDonald’s, Go-gurt, Verizon, and Trix. The young actor also did a voice over for one of the characters in Disney’s Kinect Disneyland Adventure video game.

“Everyone on set is generally always really friendly and nice. After a while in the business, you see a lot of the same faces over and over again at auditions and once in a while you may get to work with a person more than once and get to know them,” Masuda said via Facebook.

Due to many demanding school classes and multiple extracurricular activities, Masuda has discontinued his career in the film industry. Currently, the junior is taking four AP classes, is captain of varsity tennis, president for Easter Seals Disability Services, and the founder of Stomp out Hunger. He is also the chairman for DB4Youth and a tech board member for CSF.

“It was a hobby. After high school I want to go on to college and pursue other fields,” Masuda said.