The following is an online extra from our July issue, heading to newsstands now.
Whatever else he's done, William Shatner is, for many, the once and forever Capt. James T. Kirk. (Photo by Rory Lewis)
William Shatner’s entertainment career spans generations, iterations and formats. What launched him on a trajectory smack dab into the middle of worldwide popular culture, though, were the three mid-1960s television seasons in which he played Capt. James T. Kirk, commander during the first five-year mission of the Federation of Planets starship “Enterprise.”
Shatner, 87, will be in Richmond July 26 in conjunction with a screening at the Altria Theater of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”
Which, let’s just be real, is the best original-cast film of the Star Trek film franchise.
After the untimely demise of the original series — with the voyages continuing through global syndication — the fervor of fans brought forth an animated series, movies, and numerous other variations from comic books and fan fiction to the original series receiving short story adaptation in a 12-volume series by legit sci-fi author James Blish. And, yes, I collected and still own the whole set.
I recently spoke with Shatner and somehow didn’t lose consciousness from excitement during our approximately 10-minute conversation.
Richmond magazine: In your background, who in the family prior to you was the “actor in the family,” or exhibited some form of artistic predilections?
William Shatner: I’m an allele.
RM: A recessed gene …
Shatner: Recessed so far you can’t find me. You need a recess to find my recessed gene.
The only exhibition my mother had an impulse for was to deliver me. She was quite theatrical about it, I understand.
RM: You were in the 1966 horror film "Incubus," whose characters spoke Esperanto, and you were terrified by a creature on the wing of an airliner [for the 1963 “Twilight Zone” episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”]. Which was the most difficult to act: speaking in a synthetic language, or mustering up utter terror?
Shatner: Very different muscles [chuckles]. Esperanto I did phonetically. And so I did it the way I thought it should be, and it was sometime after that it occurred to me that, here I am in the movie speaking a language I knew nothing of, where the people who knew the language — it occurred to me — who’d view the movie might think, "Oh, my God, I’ve been saying it wrong all this time."
RM: There are Esperanto clubs and organizations — I wonder if they periodically show this film?
Shatner: Yes, all right. Go ahead.
RM: Do you recall your first meeting with Gene Roddenberry, and what was your reaction to his idea?
Shatner: He called me and asked me to look at a pilot film, called “Star Trek.” NBC wanted to recast it with me as the captain. When I saw the pilot I thought it was fascinating, but I saw why NBC wouldn’t buy it. It was a little pedantic; I made a few suggestions, along with everyone else, and we made another pilot, and it worked.
RM: Ricardo Montalbán had a long and storied career by the time he and his incredible chest came to “Khan.” Was there, to you, a difference in his approach to that character from the television and the big-screen versions? And how many takes for your raging “KHAAAN!” scene?
Shatner: His chest had expanded by time he came to the movie. [Laughs] That’s because he’d done several good performances before that, and he was puffing out his chest. For the "Khan!" it was one take. I’m a one-take wonder, so I would’ve done that one time.
RM: You’ve been in the business a long while. But is there anyone you’ve met who made you star-struck? Or, if you found yourself performing next to them, thinking with that actor’s self-consciousness, What am I doing here?
Shatner: I often wonder, "What am I doing here?" It’s a philosophical "What am I doing here?" No, I never met anybody who made me uneasy. I would’ve loved to have met Marlon Brando, who lived not far from where I lived. And I was just too shy and retiring to go up to his door and say, "I’d like to visit with you."
RM: There was a story about a scene being shot on the set of “Boston Legal,” and someone’s mobile phone rang during a scene … and what happened?
Shatner: I don’t know what that refers to. I have no memory of that. It might’ve been my phone. And I answered it. Sure, somebody says, "Whose phone is that?" and somebody said, "It’s yours." And so I answered it. Probably my agent asking for more money.
RM: Of all the “Star Trek” parodies and imitations and commemorations, have any of them amused you, or even moved you?
Shatner: Ah, well. A lot of people have come up to me over the years to say that the series affected their lives positively. Either it was inspirational to them or in their life’s work, got them through a tough period, or they remember watching it as a kid, and they’re reminded of seeing it with their father or their mother, so they watch it now thinking about their families. There are a lot of moving, tearfully spoken stories that have come my way as a result of being in “Star Trek” — far more than any other show, or at least any other show I’ve ever heard of. But I’ve not heard of that many shows.
RM: You were in [director Stanley Kramer’s] “Judgement at Nuremberg.” This was your first appearance on the big screen. What an incredible bench of film and theatrical talent. As an actor you’re supposed to show up and do your job — but that’s Spencer Tracy standing there. Did any of the old hands pass on any advice?
Shatner: I was in awe just being there. No, not with them. All those stars that came in — even Mr. Tracy — retired to their dressing room, right away. They wouldn’t sit around and schmooze. But he was an icon and [someone] everybody would defer to; I certainly felt that way about him.
RM: Thank you very much, I didn’t want to take too much of your time.
Shatner: You got the date, the time and the place?
RM: Got all that.
Shatner: Hope you can come by. I look forward to it.
Author's note: Drat! I forgot to ask him whether he felt guilty about Scotty beaming the tribbles into the Klingon ship's engine room and, knowing how much tribbles hated Klingons, and vice versa, that they likely just beamed them into space.
William Shatner will share stories and answer questions from the audience at the Altria Theater on July 26 at 7:30 p.m. $41 to $152. 800-514-3849 or etix.com
