William Shatner
Born: 1931-03-22 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Known For: Acting
Biography
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. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Shatner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
2024
- 765874: Unification as Kirk
- Masters of the Universe: Revolution as Keldor (voice)
- The D-Con Chamber as Self
- The UnXplained: Mysteries of the Universe as Self - Presenter
- William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill as Self
- Aliens Among Us with William Shatner
2023
- Full Moon's Roadshow Revisited as Self (archive footage)
- The UnXplained Special Presentation as Self - Presenter
- Stars on Mars as Self - Host
- Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic as Self
2022
- Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg as Self
- 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! as Self
- Fireheart as Mayor of New York (voice)
- Piers Morgan Uncensored as Self
- A Tear in the Sky
2021
- Senior Moment as Victor Martin
- 2021 and Done with Snoop Dogg & Kevin Hart as Self
- WWE Hall Of Fame 2020 as Himself
- Shatner in Space as Self
- Expedition Unknown: Shark Trek as Self
2020
- Creators: The Past as Lord Oghma
2019
- The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self
- The Masked Singer as Knight
- My Life Is Murder as Barton Wallwork
- To Your Last Death as The Overseer (voice)
- The UnXplained as Self - Host
- WWE Backstage as William Shatner
- Devil's Revenge as Hayes
2018
- Star Trek: Short Treks as Capt. James T. Kirk (voice) (archive footage)
- The Steam Engines of Oz as Oscar 'Oz' Diggs (voice)
- Aliens Ate My Homework as Phillogenus esk Piemondum (Phil) (voice)
2017
- Heroes Manufactured as Self (archive footage)
- Batman vs. Two-Face as Harvey Dent / Two-Face (voice)
- The Truth Is in the Stars as Self
- The Indian Detective as David Marlowe
- Not a War Story
- God Woke ... (Executive Producer)
2016
- Private Eyes as Norm Glinski
- The Shannara Chronicles as Captain Kirk (archive footage)
- Range 15 as Richard Chindler
- For the Love of Spock as Self
- A Sunday Horse as Kenneth Roubidoux
- Star Trek: Inside the Roddenberry Vault as Self
- When Elephants Were Young as Narrator
- They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé as Himself (voice only)
- Better Late Than Never as Self
- Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People as Self (archive footage)
- Unlocked: The World of Games, Revealed as Self
- The Colorful Montreal Expos as Narrator (voice)
2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self - Guest
- Just in Time for Christmas as Coachman Nick
- A Christmas Horror Story as Dangerous Dan
- Being Canadian as Self
- Baby, Baby, Baby as Actor
- Tom Felton Meets the Superfans as Self
- StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson as Self
- WWE Breaking Ground as Himself (narrator)
2014
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as Self
- To Be Takei as Self
- The Real History of Science Fiction as Self
- Chaos on the Bridge as Self
- A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con as Self
2013
- Escape from Planet Earth as General Shanker (voice)
- The Captains Close Up as Self
- Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale as Self
- The Captains: Still Kicking as Himself
- Return to the Forest as Narrator
2012
- Comic Book Men as Self
- Gotham Comedy Live as Self - Host
- Horrorween as Himself
- Get a Life! as Himself
2011
- The Captains as Himself
- Corman's World as Self - Actor
- Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen as Self - Roaster
- Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories
- William Shatner Sings O Canada as Himself
- Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored as Captain James T. Kirk (archive footage)
- The Space Shuttle as Narrator
- Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner
2010
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as Grand Pear (voice)
- Haven as Croatoan
- Hot in Cleveland as Sally
- Rookie Blue as Henry McLeod
- The Talk
- $#*! My Dad Says as Ed Goodson
- Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey as Core (voice)
- The Fran Drescher Show
- William Shatner's Weird or What?
- Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man as Self
- Aftermath with William Shatner as Self - Host
2009
- Fanboys as Himself
- William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet as Himself
- Star Trek: The Captain's Summit as Self
2008
- Murdoch Mysteries as Mark Twain
- Shatner's Raw Nerve as Self - Host
- Million Dollar Password
- Everest as Norman Kelly
- Extraordinary Animals
- Gotta Catch Santa Claus as Santa Claus (voice)
2007
- The Big Bang Theory as William Shatner
- Fire Serpent ... (Creator)
- The Pixar Story as James T. Kirk (archive footage)
- WWE: The Best of Raw 15th Anniversary as Himself
- Mars Rising as Narrator (voice)
2006
- Psych as Frank O'Hara
- Over the Hedge as Ozzie (voice)
- The Wild as Kazar (voice)
- Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner as Self
- 40 Years of Star Trek as Self
- The Henry Rollins Show
- Show Me the Money
- Stalking Santa as Narrator
- William Shatner in Concert as Self
2005
- The Colbert Report
- The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self
- Hell's Kitchen as Self
- The Reichen Show as Self - Guest
- Squidbillies ... (Theme Song Performance)
- Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous as Stan Fields
- Lil' Pimp as Tony Gold (voice)
- Last Laugh '05 as Lucifer
- Merry F#%$in' Christmas as Self
- Invasion Iowa as Col. Shane Yeager
- How William Shatner Changed The World as Self - Host / Narrator (voice)
2004
- Boston Legal as Denny Crane
- The Tony Danza Show as Self - Guest
- DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story as Dodgeball Chancellor
- Best Week Ever
- Atomic Betty as Jim
- Last Laugh '04 as Self
- Sci-Fi Visionaries
- Birth of a Timeless Legacy
- Kiss 'N' Tell: Romance in the 23rd Century
- The Rose Parade: A Pageant for the Ages as Self
2003
- Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Self
- Comedy Central Roasts as Self
- Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Christmas in Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
- A Carol Christmas as Dr. Bob / Ghost of Christmas Present
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special as Self
- Chilly Beach as The President
- William Shatner's Spplat Attack II as Wild Bill
2002
- Showtime as William Shatner
- American Psycho II: All American Girl as Starkman
- Groom Lake as John Gossner
- Star Wars vs. Star Trek: The Rivalry Continues as Self
- Shoot or Be Shot! as Harvey Wilkes
- Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages as Self
- After They Were Famous as Self
- NBC 75th Anniversary Special as Self
- One-Hit Wonders
- Cosmic Odyssey
- Spplat Attack
2001
- Good Day Live as Self
- Falcon Down as Major Robert Carson
- Osmosis Jones as Mayor Phlegmming (voice)
- Bob Patterson as Warren Wellman
- Festival in Cannes as Self
- Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime as Himself
- Gahan Wilson's The Kid as Professor
- NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 1 as Narrator
- Whale Shark Hunters of the Philippines as Self
- Remembering 'The Intruder' as Himself
- NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3 as Narrator
- NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 2 as Narrator
2000
- Miss Congeniality as Stan Fields
- Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins ... (Theme Song Performance)
- Click as Self
- Atomic Journeys: Welcome to Ground Zero as Narrator (Voice)
1999
- Futurama as William Shatner (voice)
- The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn as Self - Guest
- A Twist in the Tale
- Nukes in Space as Narrator
1998
- Hercules as Jason of the Argonauts (voice)
- Free Enterprise as Bill
- Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman as James T. Kirk
- Hollywood Ghost Stories as Himself
- Land of the Free as Aidan Carvell
1997
- The Practice as Denny Crane
- The View as Self
- Perversions of Science as Admiral Kornfeld
- Trekkies as Self
- Jefftowne as Himself
- Space Cadets as Self
1996
- 3rd Rock from the Sun as Big Giant Head
- Corwin as Self
- Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond as Self
- The Prisoner of Zenda, Inc. as Michael Gatewick
- Muppets Tonight as Self
- Dead Man's Island as Chase Prescott
- E! True Hollywood Story as Self
- Star Trek Story as Self (archive footage)
1995
- Virtuosity as Captain James T. Kirk (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie as Narrator
- William Shatner's Star Trek Memories as Host
1994
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast
- Star Trek: Generations as Captain James T. Kirk
- TekWar: TekJustice as Walter H. Bascom
- TekWar as Walter H. Bascom
- City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold as Adam Harland (uncredited)
- TekWar: TekLords as Walter H. Bascom
- Janek: The Silent Betrayal as Bodosh
- TekWar: TekLab as Walter H. Bascom
- TekWar as Walter H. Bascom
- UFO Cover-Up Live with Larry King as Self
- Science Fiction: A Journey Into the Unknown
- Star Trek: A Captain's Log as Himself/Host
- William Shatner: Captain's Log as Self
1993
- Raw as Self
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Captain James T. Kirk
- seaQuest DSV as Milos Tezlof
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
- National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 as General Mortars
- Family of Strangers as Earl
- Your Guide to Star Trek: Generations as Self
1992
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
- The Larry Sanders Show as William Shatner
- Boomerang as Captain James Tiberius Kirk (archive footage)
- Eek! The Cat as Santa Claus (voice)
1991
- Voices That Care as Self - Choir Member
- Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special as Self - Host
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as Kirk
1990
- Have I Got News for You as Self - Host
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Himself
- Dream On
- Amazon: Land of the Flooded Forest as Narrator
1989
- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier as Captain James T. Kirk
- Rescue 911 as Self - Host
- Hollywood on Horses as Self
1988
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark as Self
- Broken Angel as Chuck Coburn
- The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next as Self
1987
- Seasons as Narrator (voice)
- Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood as Self
1986
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as Kirk
- T.J. Hooker: Blood Sport as Sgt. T.J. Hooker
- Super Duper Bloopers as Self
- The Canadian Conspiracy as Self
- William Shatner's Mysteries of the Way We Feel as Host
1985
- The Ray Bradbury Theater as Charles Underhill
- Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers as Self (archive footage)
- North Beach and Rawhide as Rawhide MacGregor
- Night of 100 Stars II as Self
1984
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as Admiral James T. Kirk
- Secrets of a Married Man as Chris Jordan
1983
- Prime Times as Self
1982
- Late Night with David Letterman as Self
- T. J. Hooker as Sgt TJ Hooker
- Madame's Place as Self
- Airplane II: The Sequel as Cdr. Buck Murdock
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as Admiral James T. Kirk
- Night of 100 Stars as Self
- Police Squad! as Poisoned Man
- Visiting Hours as Gary Baylor
1980
- Fridays as Self - Guest Host
- The Kidnapping of the President as Jerry O'Connor
- The Babysitter as Dr. Jeff Benedict
- Hypnosis and Beyond as Himself
1979
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture as Admiral James T. Kirk
- Riel as The Barker
- Disaster on the Coastliner as Stuart Peters
1978
- The Bastard as Paul Revere
- The Third Walker as Munro Maclean
- Little Women as Friedrich Bhaer
- The Crash of Flight 401 as Carl Tobias
- Land of No Return as Curt Benell
1977
- How the West Was Won as Captain Harrison
- Kingdom of the Spiders as Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen
- The Oregon Trail
- Testimony of Two Men as Adrian Ferrier
1976
- Battle of the Network Stars
- The Tenth Level as Prof. Stephen Turner
- A Whale of a Tale as Jack Fredericks
- Mysteries of the Gods as Host
- Universe as Narrator
- Perilous Voyage as Steve Monroe
- Microworld
1975
- Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- Mitzi & 100 Guys as Self
- The Devil's Rain as Mark Preston
- Barbary Coast as Jeff Cable
- The Star Trek Dream as Self
1974
- The Six Million Dollar Man as Josh Lang
- Police Woman
- Impulse as Matt Stone
- Petrocelli as Adam North
- Pray for the Wildcats as Warren Summerfield
- Indict and Convict as Sam Belden
- Big Bad Mama as William J. Baxter
- Flick Flack as Host
- Kodiak as Buzz Howard
- Amy Prentiss
1973
- Barnaby Jones as Phil Carlyle / Fred Williams
- Pioneer Woman as John Sergeant
- Police Story
- The Magician as Ed Cassidy
- Star Trek as James T. Kirk (voice)
- Go Ask Alice as Sam
- The Horror at 37,000 Feet as Paul Kovalik
- Incident on a Dark Street as Deaver G. Wallace
1972
- The Rookies
- The People as Dr. Curtis
- The Hound of the Baskervilles as George Stapleton
- The Sixth Sense
- Kung Fu as Capt. Brandywine Gage
1970
- Sole Survivor as Lt. Col. Josef Gronke
- Swing Out, Sweet Land as John Adams
- The Andersonville Trial as Col. Chipman
1969
- Shadow Game as Peter Hoyt
1968
- Hawaii Five-O as Sam Tolliver
- The Name of the Game as Peter
- White Comanche as Johnny Moon / Notah
- Alexander The Great as Alexander
1967
- Ironside
- Mannix as Adam Langer
- Off to See the Wizard as Alexander the Great
1966
- Star Trek as James T. Kirk
- Mission: Impossible as Joseph Conrad
- Star Trek: The Menagerie as Captain James T. Kirk
- CBS Playhouse
- Incubus as Marc
1965
- The Big Valley as Brett
- The F.B.I. as Arthur Majors
- For the People as David Koster
1964
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as Michael Donfield
- The Outrage as Preacher
- Reporter as Horner
1963
- The Fugitive as Tony Burrell
- Burke's Law as Arthur Reynolds
- The Outer Limits as Gen. Jeff Barton
- Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
- Miss USA as Host
- Operation Bikini as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- Arrest and Trial as Larry Tavener
- Channing as Tom Ericson
1962
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- The Virginian as Luke Milford
- The Merv Griffin Show as Self
- The Intruder as Adam Cramer
1961
- The Mike Douglas Show as Self
- Dr. Kildare as Dr. Toby Cunningham
- The Defenders as Jim McCleery
- Judgment at Nuremberg as Harrison Byers
- The Dick Powell Show as Eric Tegman
- The Explosive Generation as Peter Gifford
- Alcoa Premiere as Dr William Grant
- The Grim Reaper as Paul Graves
1960
- Route 66
- Thriller as Gil Thrasher
- Outlaws
- Police Surgeon as Joe Flatt
1959
- The Twilight Zone as Bob Wilson
- One Step Beyond as Carl Bremer
- City Out of Time as Narrator (voice)
1958
- Naked City as Roger Barmer
- 77 Sunset Strip as Paul DeVinger
- The Brothers Karamazov as Alexi Karamazov
- The Christmas Tree as Philo
- A Town Has Turned to Dust as Jerry Paul
1957
- Oedipus Rex as Chorus
- Suspicion as Eli
- The Defender (Studio One) as Kenneth Preston
1955
- Gunsmoke as Fred Bateman
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Jim Whitely
1953
- The Oscars as Self
- Space Command
1952
1951
1948
- Studio One as Dr. David Coleman
- The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- Lamp Unto My Feet
1944
- Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter