William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise in the classic science fiction television series ‘Star Trek’, circa 1968. Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
William Shatner’s legacy as Captain Kirk has lived long and prospered for decades — and with every new Star Trek iteration, the actor is more and more in awe of the franchise.
“It’s phenomenal,” Shatner, 93, exclusively told Us Weekly of the resurgence of Star Trek and its modern adaptations on Monday, January 27. “It’s like [a] good seed being planted all over.”
He explained that the universe has “sufficient possibilities of growth” based on the storytelling. “Once some writers get a hold of it, they can invent all kinds of wondrous things,” the actor gushed.
Shatner — who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 52nd Annual Saturn Awards Showcase on Sunday, February 2 — has been happily defined by Star Trek and its spinoffs for decades.
While he broke into acting in the 1950s, it was landing the role of futuristic space leader Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek series in 1966 that really put him on the map. Shatner’s career took off after portrayed the character for three seasons until the show’s end in 1969.
His legacy continued in the early 1970s when Shatner voiced Captain Kirk on Star Trek: The Animated Series from 1973 to 1974.
From left to right, Canadian actor William Shatner as Captain Kirk, American actor DeForest Kelley (1920 – 1999) as Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy and American actor Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock in a promotional portrait for the television series, ‘Star Trek’. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Shatner revived the iconic space leader in 1979 for the first big screen adaptation of the sci-fi series, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He proceeded to star in six more Star Trek movies, including 1994’s Star Trek: Generations.
“Everybody wanted to make it larger in scope because it was transitioning from a small screen to a large screen,” Shatner recalled to Us of the decision to sign on for the movies. “So the script had an interesting novel idea where an instrument, a machine, is sent out as a probe from Earth to probe the universe. And it’s essentially captured by a machine planet that reverses it and follows it back to destroy earth.”
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He remembered thinking the idea was “wonderful” and “advanced” for that time period.
The original TV series sparked 13 movies and 12 series over the past six decades. The “original series” movies are made up of six films that premiered from 1979 to 1991, all of which included Shatner as the star.
The “next generation” movies are comprised of four films that were released from 1994 to 2002. Shatner was part of the first installment. There are also three “Kelvin Timeline” movies that came out between 2009 and 2016.
“Nobody knew that 60 years later, you and I would be talking about it. This show is just phenomenal,” Shatner confessed. “It’ll be really in our lifetime, impossible to repeat, because it would take some entertainment to exist for 60 years from now to equal what Star Trek has done. We won’t be alive then.”
Shatner, who also voiced Captain Kirk in several video games over the years, noted it’s a “once in a lifetime experience” to be part of the Star Trek universe.
Beloved actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the original Star Trek series, was mourned by his former costars and fellow celebrities on Friday, Feb. 27 — read reactions from William Shatner, Zachary Quinto, George Takei, NASA, and more here
In addition to being an icon for Star Trek fans, Shatner is a Hollywood treasure due to his staying power and long career.
In celebration of his work, the actor will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 52nd Annual Saturn Awards Showcase on Sunday for continued fundraising efforts to benefit those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. (The L.A. wildfires — mainly the Palisades and Eaton Fires — started earlier this month and resulted in thousands of homes and structures being destroyed.)
“It’s an honor that I’m delighted to receive,” Shatner said of the accolade. “I believe I was in on the first one years ago and watched with delight how the organization has grown. For them to go back and do a lifetime achievement award. That’s great.”
With reporting by Amanda Williams
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