He’s lived life at warp speed – and even though he’s just celebrated his 90th birthday, William Shatner is showing no signs of slowing down.
“I have so few minutes left in my life that I’m tasting each one with delight,” laughs the actor, best known for his role as Captain James Kirk of the Starship Enterprise.
For the Canadian actor that means not just playing the leading man in a new rom-com, but also releasing a new music album, fronting a show on the History Channel, and possibly even returning to the Star Trek franchise.
“Retire? Retire from what?” he grins. “I’m having the best time!”
Given that his career almost never got off the ground, it’s not surprising that the star, affectionately known as Bill, has no intention of fading away after 56 years in the limelight.
Born in Montreal in 1931, it wasn’t until 1965, struggling to make ends meet with a wife and three young daughters, that he got his big break in Hollywood.
“I did a series pilot at Paramount for a show called Star Trek and a TV network picked it up,” deadpans the actor. It saved his bacon, but the reviews weren’t great and the show was canned after three seasons.
“I was just about broke,” he recalls. “I even lived out of a pick-up truck for a while.”
This story is from the June 7, 2021 edition of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
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This story is from the June 7, 2021 edition of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
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