William Shatner profile
Actor profile

William Shatner

22nd March 1931 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Acting

William Shatner, OC (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship Enterprise in the second pilot of the first Star Trek television series to his final appearance as Captain Kirk in the seventh Star Trek feature film, Star Trek Generations (1994). Shatner began his screen acting career in Canadian films and television productions before moving into guest-starring roles in various American television shows. He appeared as James Kirk in all the episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, 21 of the 22 episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series, and the first seven Star Trek movies. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences before, during and after his time in a Starfleet uniform. He has also co-written several novels set in the Star Trek universe and a series of science fiction novels, the TekWar sequence, that were adapted for television. Outside Star Trek, Shatner played the eponymous veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker (1982–1986), hosted the reality-based television series Rescue 911 (1989–1996), guest starred on the detective series Columbo, and acted in the comedy film Miss Congeniality (2000). After his last appearance as Captain Kirk, Shatner's television career has embraced comedy, drama and reality shows. In seasons 4 and 5 of the NBC series 3rd Rock from the Sun, he played the alien "Big Giant Head", to which the main characters reported. From 2004 until 2008, he starred as attorney Denny Crane in the final season of the legal show The Practice and in its spinoff Boston Legal, a role that earned him two Emmy Awards, one for his contribution to each series. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, he starred in both seasons of NBC's Better Late Than Never, a comical travel series in which a band of elderly celebrities toured East Asia and Europe. Aside from acting, Shatner has had a career as a recording artist, beginning in 1968 with his album The Transformed Man. His cover versions of songs are dramatic recitations of their lyrics rather than musical performances: the most notable are his versions of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", and Elton John's "Rocket Man". His most successful album was his third, Seeking Major Tom (2011), which includes covers of Pink Floyd's "Learning to Fly", David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". In 2021, Shatner flew into space aboard Blue Origin NS-18, a Blue Origin sub-orbital capsule. At age 90, he became the oldest person to fly in space and one of the first 600 to do so. Minutes after the flight, he described experiencing the overview effect.

212 Movies 180 TV Shows 392 Credits
Filmography

Movies & TV Shows

Fireheart poster
Fireheart 16th January 2022 as Mayor of New York (voice)
Range 15 poster
Range 15 15th June 2016 as Richard Chindler
Lil' Pimp poster
Lil' Pimp 11th January 2005 as Tony Gold (voice)
Showtime poster
Showtime 14th March 2002 as William Shatner
Virtuosity poster
Virtuosity 4th August 1995 as Captain James T. Kirk (archive footage) (uncredited)
TekWar poster
TekWar 23rd January 1994 as Walter H. Bascom
Seasons poster
Seasons 11th June 1987 as Narrator (voice)
Riel poster
Riel 11th April 1979 as The Barker
Impulse poster
Impulse 1st October 1974 as Matt Stone
Haven poster
Haven 9th July 2010 as Croatoan
Everest poster
Everest 31st August 2008 as Norman Kelly
Psych poster
Psych 7th July 2006 as Frank O'Hara
Click poster
Click 6th April 2000 as Self
Futurama poster
Futurama 28th March 1999 as William Shatner (voice)
Hercules poster
Hercules 31st August 1998 as Jason of the Argonauts (voice)
TekWar poster
TekWar 22nd December 1994 as Walter H. Bascom
Raw poster
Raw 11th January 1993 as William Shatner
Fridays poster
Fridays 11th April 1980 as Self - Guest Host
Kodiak poster
Kodiak 13th September 1974 as Buzz Howard
Star Trek poster
Star Trek 8th September 1973 as James T. Kirk (voice)
Kung Fu poster
Kung Fu 14th October 1972 as Capt. Brandywine Gage
Columbo poster
Columbo 15th September 1971 as Fielding Chase
Mannix poster
Mannix 16th September 1967 as Adam Langer
Channing poster
Channing 18th September 1963 as Tom Ericson
The Defenders poster
The Defenders 16th September 1961 as Assistant District Attorney Earl Rhodes
Thriller poster
Thriller 13th September 1960 as Paul Graves
Gunsmoke poster
Gunsmoke 10th September 1955 as Fred Bateman
Omnibus poster
Omnibus 9th November 1952 as Palace Messenger