At 94, William Shatner is still a pop cultural icon who does not seem to be slowing down. The Captain Kirk star will forever be associated with Star Trek and its mythos. While it is one of the most legendary shows of all time, the behind-the-scenes of the series was not all prosperous. Shatner may be an icon, but he was not at all popular with the cast.
Many of Shatner’s co-stars have complained about his behaviour on set, especially George Takei, who played helmsman Hikaru Sulu. Takei has been in a long-time feud with William Shatner and has called out his ‘diva’ behaviour on set and off it. Shatner, too, has called Takei out for fabricating lies about him.
Why are George Takei and William Shatner embroiled in a feud?
George Takei’s Hikaru Sulu may not be as iconic as Spock or Captain Kirk, but his involvement in the Star Trek franchise and using his stardom to fight for equality and diversity have made him an LGBTQ icon. Sulu’s presence in the Enterprise crew, along with Uhura’s, went a long way in personifying Star Trek’s vision of the future.
However, no matter how in-tune and united the Enterprise crew was, the Star Trek cast reportedly did not get along with its Captain, William Shatner. Takei especially feuded with him on many occasions, calling him out for allegedly taking the bulk of the attention and exhibiting his own insecurity with other co-stars, including Leonard Nimoy.
When Shatner once went on his YouTube channel and insulted Takei, the actor mentioned to ABC News why the feud began and what issues he had with William Shatner.
It’s difficult working with someone who is not a team player. The rest of the cast all understand what makes a scene work — it’s everybody contributing to it. But Bill is a wonderful actor, and he knows it, and he likes to have the camera on him all the time.
The two had seemingly buried the hatchet in 2016 when they did a photo-op together, but it still seems to be going on as George Takei spoke at length about Shatner’s alleged feud with Leonard Nimoy.
George Takei revealed that William Shatner was insecure about the level of fame Leonard Nimoy was receiving
The one character that everyone remembers from Star Trek is Leonard Nimoy’s Spock. The actor embodied the half-Vulcan, half-human first officer of the Enterprise. Spock’s atypical demeanour and his look, including the famous pointy ears, made him a pop cultural icon that outweighed Captain Kirk’s own popularity, despite being the lead.
This reportedly did not sit well with William Shatner, who George Takei claimed was insecure and jealous about the fame and attention Nimoy was getting. He said (via Cinema Blend),
It began from the TV series. There was one character whose charisma and whose mystery was like a magnet. It was Spock, the strange alien with pointy ears. That intrigued the audience, and women thought, ‘I’m the one who can arouse him.’ His fan letters were this many, and Leonard’s were that many, and that created a tension, that insecurity [within Shatner].
Nimoy and Shatner famously stopped talking to each other before the former’s death, which has largely been attributed to Shatner trying to get him on a documentary he was producing.
Star Trek: The Original Series is available to stream on Paramount+.
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