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William Shatner

Actor / Director

"The director given enough money and time realizes a dream that he has of the way the story is told -- the big picture. The actor focuses on that tiny picture of the words, the relationship of how to make this moment work, and he’s involved in the minutia. Both are equally interesting."

About This Interview

William Shatner was interviewed for three-and-a-half hours (in two interview parts) in Studio City, CA. Shatner described his early years in Canadian theater, and his debut on American television. He discussed appearances on many live shows including Playhouse 90, Studio One, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Omnibus, and others. Shatner went on to star as Captain Kirk in Star Trek and subsequent feature films. He starred in T.J. Hooker and later hosted Rescue 911.  In part two of his interview, Shatner talked about his work as “Denny Crane” on Boston Legal.  The interviews were conducted by Ramin Fathie on September 15, 1999 and Stephen J. Abramson on January 22, 2009.

Related To This Video

  • Shows
  • People
  • Topics
  • Genres

Shows

  • 3rd Rock From the Sun
  • Boston Legal
  • Star Trek
  • T.J. Hooker
  • Twilight Zone, The
  • Twilight Zone, The: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"

People

  • Candice Bergen
  • Leonard Nimoy

Topics

  • Creative Influences and Inspiration
  • Pop Culture

Genres

  • Sci-Fi/Supernatural Series

Featured Content

William Shatner was inducted into the 17th Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.Emmy Hall of Fame Logo

Embeddable clip: William Shatner on his legacy

Resources

Autobiography

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  • Highlights
  • Chapters
  • Shows
  • People
  • Topics
  • Genres

Highlights

  • William Shatner on the pressures of production during <i>Star Trek</i> <BR/> (02m 51s)William Shatner on the pressures of production during Star Trek
    (02m 51s)
  • William Shatner on why he felt <i>Star Trek</i> has had such a following (00m 43s)William Shatner on why he felt Star Trek has had such a following (00m 43s)
  • William Shatner on <i>Star Trek</i> co-star Leonard Nimoy (00m 33s)William Shatner on Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy (00m 33s)
  • William Shatner on his legacy<BR/> (01m 03s)William Shatner on his legacy
    (01m 03s)
  • William Shatner on his experience starring in <i>T.J. Hooker</i>, and how he wished it could have sustained fully its original premise (00m 50s)William Shatner on his experience starring in T.J. Hooker, and how he wished it could have sustained fully its original premise (00m 50s)
  • William Shatner on <i>Boston Legal </i> co-star Candice Bergen (00m 28s)William Shatner on Boston Legal co-star Candice Bergen (00m 28s)
  • William Shatner on his <i>Boston Legal</i> character “Denny Crane’s” penchant for saying his name as a non sequitur<BR/> (01m 01s)William Shatner on his Boston Legal character “Denny Crane’s” penchant for saying his name as a non sequitur
    (01m 01s)
  • William Shatner on his rationale for "breaking the fourth wall" while playing "Denny Crane" on <i>Boston Legal</i> (01m 32s)William Shatner on his rationale for "breaking the fourth wall" while playing "Denny Crane" on Boston Legal (01m 32s)

Chapters

  • Chapter 1
  • Full Chapter One
  • Chapter 2
  • Full Chapter Two
  • Chapter 3
  • full chapter three
  • Chapter 4
  • Full Chapter four
  • Chapter 5
  • Full Chapter Five
  • Chapter 6
  • Full Chapter 6 (Part Two of a two-part interview): begins with Saturday Night Live and covers his later years on Boston Legal
  • Chapter 7
  • Full Chapter Seven

Shows

  • 3rd Rock From the Sun
    • William Shatner on how his background doing farce onstage helped him on his guest appearance on 3rd Rock from the Sun playing the "Big Giant Head" (and his and John Lithgow's Twilight Zone connection) (02m 28s)
  • Boston Legal
    • William Shatner on his Boston Legal character “Denny Crane’s” penchant for saying his name as a non sequitur
      (01m 01s)
    • William Shatner on Boston Legal co-star James Spader (00m 22s)
    • William Shatner on Boston Legal co-star Candice Bergen (00m 28s)
    • William Shatner on his rationale for "breaking the fourth wall" while playing "Denny Crane" on Boston Legal (01m 32s)
  • Star Trek
    • William Shatner on the pressures of production during Star Trek
      (02m 51s)
    • William Shatner on Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy (00m 33s)
    • William Shatner on why he felt Star Trek has had such a following (00m 43s)
  • T.J. Hooker
    • William Shatner on his experience starring in T.J. Hooker, and how he wished it could have sustained fully its original premise (00m 50s)
  • Twilight Zone, The
    • William Shatner on the enduring popularity of the Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 37s)
    • William Shatner on the experience of filming "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," directed by Richard Donner (01m 06s)
    • William Shatner on how his background doing farce onstage helped him on his guest appearance on 3rd Rock from the Sun playing the "Big Giant Head" (and his and John Lithgow's Twilight Zone connection) (02m 28s)
  • Twilight Zone, The: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"
    • William Shatner on the claustrophobic feeling he got shooting his episodes of The Twilight Zone (00m 21s)
    • William Shatner on the enduring popularity of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 37s)
    • William Shatner on the experience of filming "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," directed by Richard Donner (01m 06s)
    • William Shatner on how his background doing farce onstage helped him on his guest appearance on 3rd Rock from the Sun playing the "Big Giant Head" (and his and John Lithgow's Twilight Zone connection) (02m 28s)

People

  • Candice Bergen
    • William Shatner on Boston Legal co-star Candice Bergen (00m 28s)
  • Leonard Nimoy
    • William Shatner on Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy (00m 33s)
  • James Spader
    • William Shatner on Boston Legal co-star James Spader (00m 22s)

Topics

  • Choose ..

    • (00m 21s)
  • Creative Influences and Inspiration
    • William Shatner on his rationale for "breaking the fourth wall" while playing "Denny Crane" on Boston Legal (01m 32s)
  • Pop Culture
    • William Shatner on why he felt Star Trek has had such a following (00m 43s)
  • Pop Culture > Characters & Catchphrases
    • William Shatner on his Boston Legal character “Denny Crane’s” penchant for saying his name as a non sequitur
      (01m 01s)
    • William Shatner on his rationale for "breaking the fourth wall" while playing "Denny Crane" on Boston Legal (01m 32s)

Genres

  • Sci-Fi/Supernatural Series
    • William Shatner on why he felt Star Trek has had such a following (01m 00s)
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Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2011-12-07 07:18.

Holy Christ is this interviewer stiff and uninspiring...

Submitted by MrSkateduck on Sat, 2011-03-12 03:08.

so kool to listen to the captain

Submitted by rainbowsalads on Sun, 2010-12-05 07:39.

@m001900 its bizzarre. it must have been Bone's adrenaline in "the deadly years" he looks about 60 : P

Submitted by SamDeRe81 on Thu, 2010-11-11 12:59.

Amazing, absolutely amazing to see this, I'm so thrilled. Wow this is so cool Shatner looks very tired I wonder what he does everyday :D I wanna know

Submitted by SamDeRe81 on Thu, 2010-11-11 11:53.

Alright, I'd love to have seen Deathtrap done with him! OMG

Submitted by prodigalson56 on Thu, 2010-10-21 17:49.

Shatner is the man! :-)

Submitted by musicispower84 on Sat, 2010-07-24 09:39.

James T. Kirk. Shatner is boss!

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