Star Trek is one of the most famous sci-fi franchises in Hollywood, and with Star Wars, it is right at the top. The franchise has been going on since the ‘60s and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016. Since The Original Series aired in 1966, there have been several spinoff shows, which have enjoyed varying degrees of success.
While many breakout stars have been created due to Star Trek, William Shatner has been its richest actor. The actor who played Captain Kirk in the original series came back with the rest of the cast to star in the six original movies. He also starred in a few more shows and became a prominent public personality.
William Shatner made a huge fortune from his role in Star Trek
The Star Trek franchise has given some great stars to Hollywood and has made talented actors into household names. Actors like Sir Patrick Stewart got their first taste of fame due to the show, and while Stewart went on to play Professor X in the X-Men franchise, he is still one of the biggest stars of the Star Trek franchise.
Despite two big franchises, Patrick Stewart’s net worth is still less than William Shatner’s. Stewart’s fortune clocks in at $75 million (via Celebrity Net Worth). The actor also came back as Captain Picard in the spinoff show Star Trek: Picard. However, William Shatner is the richest actor in the Star Trek franchise, and it goes far beyond Stewart’s fortune.
Shatner became a pop culture icon when he played Captain James T. Kirk in the original series, along with Leonard Nimoy’s Spock. While Spock had a lot more iconography and is known for his unique characterisation as a half-Vulcan and half-human, Shatner leveraged his stardom in a better way and became the face of the franchise.
Shatner also had starring roles in the TV shows T.J. Hooker and Boston Legal, the latter of which won him an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor (which his tenure in Star Trek never gave). His net worth reportedly amounts to $100 million, making him the richest star in the sci-fi franchise (via Celebrity Net Worth). He was also the oldest man in space until 2024.
William Shatner claimed he earned no residuals from Star Trek: TOS
William Shatner has been the face of Star Trek for a long time. He has regularly attended conventions, starred in movies, and directed and featured in multiple Star Trek-related documentaries. Two of his memoirs have chronicled his time in the franchise, including his tumultuous relationship with Leonard Nimoy.
However, the actor mentioned that he never received any residuals from the original series, as at the time, their contracts did not include such payouts. TOS was canceled only after three seasons, and Shatner reportedly faced a tough time getting jobs, even doing commercials to make ends meet. He said (via Inverse),
We didn’t get paid residuals; it’s possible no show has been run more in syndication than the original series, but we didn’t receive a penny from that.
Shatner only got his fame when he came back as Captain Kirk in the movies after the studio revived the franchise in the ‘70s.
Star Trek: TOS is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
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