William Shatner believes the men and women he shared his time with on the Star Trek set were the issues, not him.
Love him or hate him, William Shatner sure does give people plenty of quotes to cipher through. The man is never at a loss for words. If you’re newer to the Star Trek fandom, you may not know what the deal with Shatner is.
He’s one of the original stars of the original Star Trek series and is among just three of the surviving actors from the project, alongside George Takei and Walter Koening. Despite the passing of the other four actors, Shatner is still someone who can’t seem to let things go.
He was notoriously hard to deal with on the set of the original show, with him and Takei eventually developing bitter animosity for one another. His lone friend from the show, Leonard Nimoy, eventually had a falling out with him as well.
Yet, despite nearly 60 years having ticked by since then, Shatner still believes it was everyone’s fault but his. Speaking to USA Today, Shatner broke down how he really saw his former castmates and the issues they had, saying;
"I have no idea what they’re talking about, which may mean they’re prejudiced or I’m so inured to people’s reactions that I’m living in my own little world. And I don’t know which it is. I strive every day to find out. It’s so bizarre that I’ve ceased to talk or think about it. Because I think they are the problem, not me. It’s a really good attitude to have in life. Isn’t it?"
William Shatner will probably never let go of these issues
It’s a bit sad that William Shatner can’t seem to make nice with Koening and Takei. Koening and Shatner aren’t nearly as frosty as Takei and Shatner but Keoning did say once that he didn’t feel like Shatner ever wanted to be his friend.
You’d think after that time together, working together for nearly 30 years, that you’d want to relish in the time you had left with people who shared your life. It’s rather jarring to see, especially when you see just how much love the cast of The Next Generation cast has for one another.
It’s so utterly sad that this is how the legacy of the original series will end; as bitter nothings.