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Let's roll, please.
Ready and action.
Oh, hi.
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I'm William Shatner.
[Reporter] He's been a star on stage and screen for almost 70 years
a proud Canadian
born in Montreal
Shatner went to McGill University
and got his start in theatre at Stratford
love and destruction shall be so in use
and dreadful optics so familiar
stop talking such foolishness
the saintly Lxa is portrayed by William Shatner
[Reporter] His first feature film role was inThe Brothers Karamazov
you know these are things that they they don't normally do on this phase
isn't that true?
that's true.
[Reporter] Followed by more movies
and stints on broadway
[Captain Kirk] these are the voyages of the starship enterprise
[Reporter] and then in 1966
he took on that iconic role Captain James Tiberius Kirk on the USS Enterprise
what constitutes a hit show or a hit movie
and everybody tries to make one
and the elements are
it's chemistry
[Reporter] More memorable roles followed
William Shatner celebrated his 90th birthday last month
but that hasn't slowed him down
he's just released a new movie, Senior Moment
shot before the pandemic
and he's still working
William Shatner, it's a real honour to speak with you
is it?
It is, yes
um you I have just celebrated a milestone birthday
uh what's life like --
is that a milestone or is that a millstone?
well you tell me
what's life like at 90?
well it's I certainly is a milestone
but yeah it's also I mean uh uh
insurance companies to take a look at
a scan set you uh uh uh
people who uh renew your driver's license
uh look strangely at you
it's a weird thing to be 90
and not to really kind of get it
like when did it become 90?
last time I looked it was 60
and you know what 60 is like
I do yes
yeah a little too close for comfort there William
um as I look at you
and as I speak with you
I don't know what 90's supposed to look like
but it doesn't
it's not the way you present yourself
no, no you don't understand
this is 90
yeah
it's the way it's supposed to look
fantastic
yeah yeah if you take your vitamins
and uh exercise
and I don't know it's DNA uh i'm sure
but it's also good Canadian winters I'm sure
I'm still working on Snapshot
What are you laughing at?
it's not Snapshot
it's Snapchat
[Ian] So you uh have just shot a movie
Senior Moment
and has just been released
and I can't imagine what it's like to work at 90
much less to to do a movie at that age
was it different?
it hurts
the hips the shoulders
uh and I don't want to take any pain pills
but you know around 90
things start to like oh wow that's hurt
and the pillow's got to be exactly right
otherwise your your back hurts and
things hurt when you're 90.
uh not not so that you're incapacitated
but you know this is good
but this left arm is a little stiff
yeah no 90 you know
I can remember the words and
what's your name again?
so it wasn't a -- there were no big challenges
in shooting this movie?
no no more than the usual challenge of
trying to remember the words
and hitting the marks and
making it sound real
and getting back and forth
this was shot in Palm Springs
and um which is about a hundred miles away from uh Los Angeles
is where I live
and so I did I
instead of going back and forth
I decided to stay in the town
so I just focused on this movie
like a monk
I had nothing else to do
with no kids no dogs nothing
no other responsibilities
other than focus on this movie
and I felt such joy
in being able to do it
so the film
is as good as I can do I guess
let me ask you about the pandemic
what we've all lived through
how has it affected your life?
well I'm embarrassed to say you know
I mean everybody's suffering and
incarcerated in their rooms
but I'm in a nice big house
I move around
my wife is you know
we get us send out for uh grocery boxes
I have horses and I'm able to get to the horses
drive to the horses
so as many mornings as I can a week
I'm on a horse
then I come here and I work
and I do this and I uh
I'm making an album
I've made an album
tell me about the meaning of life
doing a uh a really advanced
artificial intelligence 3D thing
that when you press a button
that AI will select an answer to a question you ask
this holographic figure
all kinds of new and different things
that I'm involved in
that I'm able to do from my home
so
I've preached to my kids
here's a moment when you're alone
and you're forced to focus
take something you love
and focus even more on it
because you have to
because there's nothing else to do
so it's an opportunity to really examine
what it is about your life you love
and to focus on it
your energy and your focus is is is incredible
got to tell you something though
I was talking to one of my sons
he's 24 years old
and I said let's play word association
and you go okay
I said William Shatner
and of course, he said
Star Trek
is that a good thing or a bad thing
how do you feel about your association?
well. when he gets to be 25 I hope he has a different uh answer
but up until 24, I'll accept it
no it's great
these words and the words that follow
were not written only for the yangs
but for the comms as well
they must apply to everyone
or they mean nothing
do you understand?
[Shatner] A strange little three-year length series
went on the air
and it had
it was in the future
and it was one of you know
it wasn't the first one
and then six or seven years goes by
and they put it into syndication
and it's a low uh
earlier hour
and people begin to watch it
and suddenly it becomes popular
and it becomes a show business phenomena
of which I was part of the people who started it
and 50 -- more than 55 years later
how many iterations are there of star trek
your son says Star Trek
he's 25
but you know
you got to send him to a little uh
a better school
than he
what a compliment that is
if he's as bright as you are
he knows a great deal
and there he is with Star Trek
so many people
I was on a Star Trek uh
whatever we call this
Zoom convention
on Saturday
and one person after another with tears in their eyes
telling me how Star Trek and I had affected them
it was
it was so meaningful
we talked about your a little bit about your career
but you probably think about your legacy as well
what do you hope your legacy will be?
there's no such thing as legacy
well I mean
even if you have a stone for a gravestone
it's knocked over and and desecrated
and it falls into the ground
and eventually it's gone
and they say who?
let's get rid of that
bury somebody else there
there's no such thing as legacy
legacy lasts
a day of mourning
maybe a week
maybe in my case
remember that guy in Star Trek
what's his name again?
you know, your son now is 27
and he says what, I can't quite recall
what is there
what is a legacy
is doing something good for somebody
or your country
doing some positive deed
that will have ramifications with other people
and other things
save something
do something good for somebody
everybody needs something
do something that people need
and that will reverberate
that's your legacy
not
nobody will say I know the legacy, I got the legacy
nobody will know that you did that good deed
but it's there
your phone's ringing
that's a good sign
maybe that's your next job
no no I don't need another job I got you
William Shatner uh
you're an impressive guy
and a real pleasure talking to you
thank you very much
you're welcome
thank you for having me
pleasure to talk to you
I look forward to the next time
all right bye-bye