Hikari Takano was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1964. He got his education in boarding schools in England until the age of 18, and he went to the University of Redlands in California where he graduated with a B.A. in History in 1987. He was also a four year varsity member of the National Champion Tennis team at the U of R. In 1988, Hikari moved to N.Y. to study acting with the legendary Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. In 1991, Hikari made his feature film debut in Fred Schepisi's "Mr. Baseball", starring Tom Selleck. He also served as Mr. Selleck's bilingual assistant for the four month shoot in Japan. In 1992, Hikari was cast as Leon in Barry Sonnenfeld's "For Love or Money", starring Michael J. Fox. In 1993, Hikari appeared on Benetton's billboard campaign in Times Square, N.Y., photographed by Olivieri Toscani. The semi-nude billboard was very controversial at the time. Hikari appeared in numerous TV commercials, Off-Broadway, and Regional Theatre productions in his 11 years in New York. In 1999, Hikari moved back to Los Angeles, California, and began working as an interviewer for magazines like The Book LA, Perfect 10, Penthouse, Free & Easy, Cigar, and numerous Japanese movie magazines. Hikari has interviewed over 120 celebrities since 1999. In 2009, Hikari launched his website www.HikariTakano.com where he features brand new video interviews, as well as full interview audio and transcripts from his most notable interviews.