While we may know him as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise, William Shatner
has proven throughout his prolific life and career that he is so much more than just the
beloved Star Trek character that he portrayed way back in the 60s and 70s. The Hollywood
star celebrated his 90th birthday this year and is all set to fulfill his lifelong dream
of space travel by actually blasting off into space. So having had such an iconic career,
and given the fact that he is still pushing to achieve his passions into his 90s, what
does Shatner himself think of all this? Join us as we take a closer look at the life and
career of William Shatner as we cover everything from real-life space travel to his thoughts
on becoming a nonagenarian.
The man, the myth, the Captain!
Born on March 22nd, 1931, William Shatner is a Canadian-born entertainer who boasts
a multi-faceted career that'll make any striving hustler envious. He's an actor, author, producer,
director, screenwriter, and singer. During his seven decades of acting, he became a beloved
cultural icon for his powerful depiction of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise
in the original Star Trek series. His portrayal of Kirk extended television and into multiple
films, which looked to end with 1991's Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country. This, however,
wasn't the end for Shatner's turn at being Captain Kirk. He teamed up with Patrick Stewart
who played Captain Picard on the Star Trek The Next Generation series. 1994's Star Trek
Generations was the first movie based on the Next Generation characters and proved to be
a worthy farewell to the character of Kirk.
With Shatner's unique life experience of playing Kirk for so many years, he has written a series
of books chronicling what it was like playing the beloved character, being a part of the
Star Trek franchise, and what his life has been like after Star Trek. He has even co-written
multiple novels set in the Star Trek universe as well as a series of sci-fi novels called
TekWar, which were adapted for television from 1994 to 1996. Shatner went on to play
the veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker and hosted the reality-based television series
Rescue 911.
From 2004 to 2008, Shatner took on the role of lawyer Denny Crane both in the last season
of the ABC legal drama The Practice and in its spinoff series Boston Legal. His performance
earned him two Emmy Awards. But none of this is enough for Shatner, who is scheduled to
fly on Blue Origin's second human spaceflight on October 12th, 2021. At the age of 90, Shatner
will become the oldest individual to fly into space. The record is currently held by Wally
Funk, who ventured out into the great beyond at age 82.
What does William Shatner think of his age?
At 90 years old, William Shatner is a nonagenarian who is set to become the oldest person to
ever travel to space. When Shatner first took on his iconic role of Captain James T. Kirk
in the original Star Trek series in 1966, he was 35 years old. By the time he starred
in the 80's movies, Shatner was already in his 50s. But passionate fans of the actor
and dedicated trekkies alike wanted more. This undoubtedly led to the reprisal of his
most recognizable role in 1994. Shatner would have been in his 60s at that point.
So, how does he feel about turning the big 9-0? Shatner has never been one to hold back
his opinions, and in an interview with CBC Radio Q, he was honest in the most brutal
fashion. The Star Trek star called turning 90 "disgusting." He also stated in the interview
that he feels like 90 is a disgusting number in general.
He went on to muse that the last time he recalled encountering the number, he was back in Canada.
Shatner then quipped that he didn't even know that people lived to 90. Needless to say,
he's not that excited about making it to his 10th decade on earth.
Shatner also seemed to express his fear of mortality. He explained that a scary day is
the one that someone dies, where the mystery of what happens after death begins to come
in.
If you're enjoying this video, remember to hit that like button and subscribe to Facts
Verse for more thought-provoking and entertaining content. Now, back to more details about William
Shatner and his upcoming trip to space.
William Shatner will take on the final frontier.
It sounds crazy, but Captain Kirk is actually going to space. Blue Origin, the flashy, modern
space travel company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, announced that the legendary actor
will take off to the stars for real from West Texas. William Shatner tweeted that he's going
to be a "rocket man", and that it's never too late to experience new things.
Bezos, who is the founder of Amazon, invited Shatner to fly as its guest. Bezos is a huge
fan of Star Trek, which makes us wonder if the series is what inspired the billionaire
to reach for the stars in the first place. With the show's original Captain joining the
flight, it's in a sense come full circle. A pleasant detail that is likely not lost
on both Shatner and Bezos.
Shatner will join three others on the flight, two of which are paying customers. A fourth
seat on the flight is set aside for Blue Origin's vice president of mission and flight operations
who previously worked for NASA as a space station flight controller. Shatner will end
up being the second actor to fly into space this month. Russia launched a Soyuz MS-19
spacecraft into space with a crew of Russian actors, filmmakers, and legitimate cosmonauts
to the International Space Station to begin filming scenes for The Challenge.
The Challenge will be the first feature film to be shot in outer space. The announcement
had Hollywood in an uproar, as it is happening well before superstar Tom Cruise produces
his eagerly anticipated yet currently untitled $200 million space-based blockbuster. The
Hollywood action-star brokered a deal between NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX last year to bring
the movie to the big screen. He's planned to re-team with American Made director, Doug
Liman, for the project.
Shatner's flight will not be anywhere near as long as his Russian peers, as his will
last just 10 minutes and is planned to reach about 66 miles above the Earth's surface.
After the ten-minute exploration in space, the capsule will parachute back to the desert
floor, not far from where it took off.
Space tourism is only getting bigger.
While William Shatner will be the oldest person to travel into space, he certainly isn't the
first to be a part of the newly coined space tourism industry. Business magnate Sir Richard
Branson was flown by Virgin Galactic, the company he founded, to the edge of space while
accompanied by five others in July. Just nine days later, Bezos took his own trip to space.
He was accompanied by Mark Bezos, his brother, Wally Funk, an 82-year-old pioneer and celebutante
of the first space race, and an 18-year-old student.
The capsule that they travelled in was fitted with the biggest windows ever flown in space,
offering unparreled, stunning views of Earth. The capsule touched back down after 10-minutes,
with Bezos labeling it as the best day ever. Bezos was quickly hit with criticism, however,
after his insultingly tone-deaf comment, where he thanked every Amazon employee and customer
because, according to him, they were the ones that paid for all of this.
Elon Musk's SpaceX, launched its very own first private crew space mission last month.
William Shatner is understandably enthusiastic about following in the footsteps of these
space explorers. He explained that he has heard about space for a long time now and
is finally taking the opportunity to see it for himself. He then described the opportunity
as a miracle.
90 going on 60.
Now in his 90s and still looking no older than 60, William Shatner's got many people,
the more superficial ones that is, wondering if he's had plastic surgery to keep up with
his good looks. Shatner swears he hasn't had any cosmetic surgery. rather, he credits his
youthful appearance to good genetics.
But it seems his looks aren't the only signs of his youthful prowess. This year he was
promoting his new comedy film called Senior Moment, where he plays Victor, a retired NASA
test pilot who loses his driver's license after drag racing his vintage convertible
around Palm Springs. Now forced to take public transportation, he meets Caroline and learns
to navigate love and life again while defiantly refusing to show his age. It's hard to fault
the casting. Caroline is played by Jean Smart, an actress 21 years Shatner's junior. He described
her as beautiful and added that he had the best time with her during production.
But his cornucopia of projects doesn't stop there. Shatner has also been working on a
fresh album. While he will always be best known for his acting career, Shatner is also
a prolific recording artist who's finally earning some acclaim for his unique blend
of spoken word and song. He worked with Ben Folds on his deeply personal 2004 album, titled
Has Been. It's been called everything from confusing to enthralling, sincere, and profound.
He also recently dropped William Shatner, The Blues, which to his credit reached No.
1 on the Billboard blues chart. Maybe keeping busy and avoiding retirement is the key to
staying youthful and active. All we can say is that we can't wait to see Kirk himself
up in the stars for real.
What do you find most impressive about the legendary William Shatner, the fact that he's
still putting out so much work at 90 as a guy in his twenties, or that Captain Kirk
is finally getting his chance to travel space, the final frontier?
Let us know what you think in the comments section below and don't forget to subscribe
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