Perhaps most famous for his role as Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, William Shatner has acted on Broadway, film and television for decades now. He’ll be in Cleveland on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14, for Fan EXPO, which takes place at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. In this recent phone interview from his Los Angeles home, he discusses his lengthy career, the enduring appeal of the Star Trek series and his forthcoming musical projects.
You’re coming to Cleveland for Fan Expo. Do you have any great memories from previous visits to Northeast Ohio?
Cleveland is a great city, and I’ve toured there on various occasions. I’m delighted to be going back, and, as you know, I will be there on Friday, March 13, and Saturday March 14.
The last time I spoke to you, you were putting out an album of cover tunes. Talk about your love of music.
What’s interesting is that I have an album that MCA Records is going to release. The exact date I am not sure. I think it will be early summer. I’m not sure what the title will be. It’ll be something like The Mysteries of Love. The album is all about love. It’s about love of music and love of health and love of sky, all the things you don’t think of when you write a love song. [Singer-guitarist] Brad Paisley has made some wonderful music. It’s a delight of an album. In other musical plans, I’m working on a heavy metal album that should be kind of sensational. That’s what I’m doing in some of my spare time.
Do you have a favorite heavy metal band?
Here’s the mystery. I don’t know heavy metal very much. I know Black Sabbath and all that kind of thing, but the intricacies of heavy metal and punk rock and jazz. Heavy metal gets into three or four different categories, as it has been explained to me. I don’t know anything about that. In fact, I was in front of an audience a couple of weeks ago, and I said, “I don’t understand heavy metal. Does anyone here understand it?” And a burly guy got up and came down front and started dancing like he was in a mosh pit. Another guy got up and the two of them began to bang into each other. They said, “This is heavy metal.” I don’t know about that. I’m writing songs about being angry. I’m angry at getting old. I’m angry at what we’re doing to the planet. I’m angry to be kept waiting. It’s all those emotional songs that have a passion to them. It’s what I think heavy metal is.
It’s like the flipside of the other record that’s all about love.
Exactly. That’s very astute of you. That’s exactly what it is.
You started acting in college. What took you in that direction?
My story is that I was in a summer camp play, and I was six years old. I made the audience cry for something I had done. It was a revelation for me. My parents came on a Sunday to get ne to come home. My dad [saw the play and] said, “My boy, my boy, Bill.” That sealed my fate.
Do you have a favorite stage role?
Well, you know, I have been on Broadway several times. I don’t think in that distinction. Everything is my favorite when I’m doing it. It’s like this very interview. I want it to be very good and to communicate, and you’re asking the right questions. Right now is my finest moment. I don’t think in terms of “this is my favorite role.” I just want to do the best I can when I’m doing it. For example, last week, in front of a very large audience, they asked me to sing “Rocket Man.” I re-imagined “Rocket Man.” The lyrics are really weird and strange. And as an actor, I’m trying to find the through-line like you do in a play. What’s my one-line explanation of this song? I struggled with it. It’s a weirdly worded song. What I discovered would make sense is that it’s an astronaut facing the loneliness of space. It’s going to be a long, long time before he comes back. I got the band conditioned. I did everything with the music and lyrics and got a standing ovation for a re-imagined “Rocket Man.” That was a terrific moment because I had to struggle not to do something cliché.
When you took on the role of Captain Kirk in 1966, did you have any idea that you’d be talking about all these years later?
Yeah, of course not.
Do you like talking about it?
I don’t mind if it provides fodder for your article. In fact, I’m delighted. It’s a phenomenon, which I was in on in the beginning. It’s unlike any other show business thing. There will never be another phenomenon like it in our lifetime. It has been on for 60 years or more. It has all these iterations. It’s a cultural phenomenon of 60 years old. Anything that would threaten its record is years behind. You and I will be both be dead if somebody equals Star Trek.
You were recently on Celebrity IOU and helped renovate your longtime assistant’s kitchen. What was it like to work with the Property Brothers?
I worked with them once before, and that’s why they called me. They’re great guys, and I was happy to be on the show. I was happy to give a gift to the wonderful Kathleen Hays.
You talk about your love for horses a bit in the show. When did that start?
A long time ago but even longer is my love for dogs. I have a 100-pound dog almost sitting in my lap right now. He wants to be petted and is even shaking a little. I’m not sure why. I’ll figure that out when I put the phone down.
How would you hope that people remember you?
Well, I think people don’t physically remember but are affected by good deeds. And so, I don’t think anything we leave behind stands the test of time except good deeds. That’s what I’ve learned over a lifetime of trying to help as much as I can. I have a charity called the Hollywood Charity Horse Show. I’ve been working with the charity for 35 years. In 35 years, we have raised several million dollars for veterans and for children.
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