William Shatner and his issues with his Star Trek castmates are nothing new but George Takei wants you to know that the rest of the cast got along well.
The Story of William Shatner being at odds with his Star Trek castmates from time to time while they shot Star Trek is not something new to many Trek fans. There were issues between Shatner and co-stars George Takei and Leonard Nimoy for most of the series run. Not to mention all of the other issues that cropped up along the way with Shatner and the rest of his Original Series castmates.
Shatner’s lone friend from the series for the long times was Nimoy, but as rumors go, Shatner and Nimoy had a falling out because of Shatner putting Nimoy into The Captains documentary without Nimoy’s consent. The two stopped speaking after that and continued until Nimoy’s death, despite Shatner’s attempt at reconciliation.
Takei recently spoke about Shatner and his inability to get along with anyone, even his one-time-friend Nimoy with David Tennant on Tennant’s podcast, David Tennant Does A Podcast With… (via RadioTimes.com) and talked more about Shatner’s issues with his castmates on the iconic 60’s television series.
"It got more and more intense. How do I put it? It began from the TV series.There was one character whose charisma and whose mystery was like a magnet. It was Spock, the strange alien with pointy ears.That intrigued the audience and women thought, ‘I’m the one who can arouse him.’ His fan letters were this many, and Leonard’s were that many, and that created an insecurity."
Takei went on to explain that despite the issues with Shatner and the rest of the cast, the cast itself was rather chummy.
"You know, movie-making, TV-making, theatre-making is all about collaborative teamwork. A good actor knows that the scene works when there’s that dynamic going on with the cast. Some actors seem to feel that it’s a one-man show. That’s the source of some tensions."
Shatner’s legacy with Star Trek has been cemented for the rest of time, even if he wasn’t the nicest guy to his colleagues, his imprint on the franchise was part of the reason why the series became so popular.
While it’s unfortunate that he remains at odds over his castmates for one reason or another, the magic they made together will never be able to be erased. They’re forever linked in the magic that was the original series.