William Shatner found fame with his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise. He played thr role for decades in both television and movies, and became synonymous with the character of the captain of the starship Enterprise. At 93 years of age, Shatner is just as spritely as he was before, and keeps popping up in projects every now and then, while continuously interacting with fans during fan-conventions or through social media.
From 1966 to 1994, Shatner repeatedly reprised the role of Captain Kirk for multiple projects. But since then, it’s been a while since he has been back at the Enterprise. In a recent interview, Shatner spoke of his most iconic moments from the franchise, as well as some other equally important roles in his career. He also divulged if there would ever be a chance for him to go back to take his seat on the ship’s deck.
William Shatner Speaks of His Time in The Twilight Zone
In the early 60s, before he landed on the starship Enterprise, William Shatner was playing a few roles in this project or that. One of them was the fantasy science fiction horror anthology series, Twilight Zone. In the episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, Shatner had the opportunity to work with renowned director Richard Donner, who is most popularly known for making the Superman movie in 1978, starring Christopher Reeve.
But Donner had also directed quite a few episodes of the Twilight Zone, and Shatner was a part of one of them. Unfortunately, their working experience wasn’t that good. The episode had technical complications, with filming having to be completed in almost half the days than initially alloted. Speaking to THR, Shatner said:
When you get those science fiction choices: The guy is dressed in a furry little suit and you say, “Well, why isn’t the suit aerodynamic? Why is it a suit that’ll catch every breeze that blows?” What kind of logic do you use in any science fiction case?
He further added, speaking on the technical issues of the episode:
What kind of logic do you use in any science fiction case? When I looked at the acrobat, I said to myself, “That isn’t something you’d wear on the wing of a 747,” but then again, what do you wear on the wing of a 747? So yeah, it was complicated in that way.
The Superman director as well as Shatner did not have a smooth experience while filming the episode. While it was Donner who faced the most difficulties as the director, the cast was not completely removed from the complications either.
William Shatner’s Biggest Regret From Star Trek
Shatner had quite a few iconic moments in the show as well as the movies that followed. Star Trek gained a cult status back then, and is now considered one of the biggest sci-fi franchises to exist. But where there is good, there is also the bad. And the bad for Shatner was him failing to bring his vision to life. He lamented on not having the courage to do things his way, while also lacking being equipped for it.
I wish that I’d had the backing and the courage to do the things I felt I needed to do… When I’m asked, “What do you regret the most?,” I regret not being equipped emotionally to deal with a large motion picture. So in the absence of my power, the power vacuum filled with people that didn’t make the decisions I would’ve made.
While it’s sad to know we could had him back in the franchise with a new project, we should be happy with what he gave us.
All three seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series are available for streaming on Paramount+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire