Actor James Saito

Actor James Saito is a cast member of ABC’s hit series “Eli Stone,” which will have its season premiere on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 10 p.m.

Saito’s other film and TV appearances include “I Think I Love My Wife,” “Pearl Harbor,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Henry Fool,” “Robot Stories,” “Home Alone 3,” “Devil’s Advocate,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Third Watch,” “Sex and the City,” “Star Trek:Voyager,” “100 Centre St.,” “Blood and Orchids,” and most recently the title role in “Heroes and Villains: Shogun” for the BBC.

His first TV role was in the 1976 movie “Farewell to Manzanar,” based on the book by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. In 2001, Saito and other cast members attended a 25th anniversary screening of the film in San Francisco’s Japantown.

Saito has also appeared on Broadway in such productions as David Henry Hwang’s “Golden Child” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I,” while his off-Broadway and regional credits include such theatrical venues as Public Theater-Durango (Obie Award), Long Wharf Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Kennedy Center, Playwrights Horizons, Williamstown, Seattle Rep, Arena Stage and Singapore Rep.

Show’s Premise

From Greg Berlanti (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Everwood”) and Marc Guggenheim (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Law & Order,” “The Practice”) comes a story about a lawyer who finds himself at a crossroads between the man he has become and the man he wants to be — even if that means being a prophet.

Driven by ambition, Eli Stone (Jonny Lee Miller, “The Flying Scotsman”) has built a successful career at a top San Francisco law firm in representing the biggest and richest corporations where “screwing over the little guy” is common practice.

After experiencing a series of odd hallucinations, including a crooning vision of George Michael, Eli turns to his neurologist brother, Nathan (Matt Letsher, “The New Adventures of Old Christine”), only to be told there is nothing wrong with him.

As the visions persist, he’s anxious to find the cause of his delirium and seeks the help of Dr. Chen (Saito), an acupuncturist who specializes in holistic medicine. Though skeptical of his practice, Eli finds Dr. Chen can help him recall important memories from his past.

Eli’s visions continue to intensify and begin to affect his practice, relationships and how he is perceived. But it’s not until Eli puts his own life in peril that Nathan recognizes similar episodes their father shared and reconsiders what may be ailing his brother. Upon another review of the symptoms and an MRI, Nathan discovers Eli is suffering from an inoperable brain aneurysm that’s causing his illusions.

If Nathan represents science, Dr. Chen represents faith. As Eli struggles to cope with his diagnosis, he looks to Dr. Chen for his take on the relationship of his revelations to his aneurysm. Dr. Chen suggests there could be a divine answer for why he’s having delusions of grandeur — Eli may be a prophet.

Eli’s visions have helped him to recall what his father once impressed upon him: “You’re meant to do great things .... You’re going to help people.” With his father’s words in mind, Eli redefines his outlook on life and his intent as a lawyer.

Other cast members are Victor Garber (“Alias”) as Eli’s imposing boss and future father-in-law, Jordan Wethersby; Natasha Henstridge (“Commander in Chief”) as Eli’s fiancee, Taylor; Loretta Devine (“Crash”) as Eli’s sassy assistant, Patti; Sam Jaeger (“Catch and Release”) as Eli’s ambitious fellow counsel, Matt Dowd; and Julie Gonzalo (“Veronica Mars”) as Maggie Dekker, an inexperienced junior associate.