Actor William Shatner has had a career spanning seven decades. In that time, he's played many roles, but none more iconic than that of Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise. At the age of 94, Shatner doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Currently, he's on a tour screening the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The 1982 film is considered to be the best among the Star Trek movies of the 80s. It also starred actor Ricardo Montalban as the villainous Khan, a genetically engineered superhuman from the late 20th century. Shatner will screen the film at the Golden State Theater in Monterey on November 15th. I spoke with him by phone recently and he began by telling me what audiences can expect from this Star Trek event:
"I'm bringing with me the film, The Wrath of Khan. It's arguably the best Star Trek film.
It's a wonderfully moving emotional film and it's been refurbished, sound and color, and it'll be on the big screen. Then I come out after the film is over. I come out on stage. I'm live on stage in front of the audience and I'll take questions and I'll have answers to most of your questions. So we'll have great fun for an hour or more while I'm on stage. We're so looking forward to it."
Click the audio player at the top of this story to listen to the interview or read the highlights below.
Shatner on one of memories of filming The Wrath of Khan:
"Ricardo Montalban, he was great. And he had these enormous pectoral muscles! I couldn't get my eyes off his pecs. You'd speak to him and your eyes would be on his pectorals. He must have worked out every day, and he had these enormous arms and chest muscles. He was a lovely man. I loved him and became a friend of his."
Shatner on his real-life journey in to space with Blue Origin in 2021:
"Being in space—one of a little more than 600 people to go into space and be weightless— has no word. There are no words to describe weightlessness. But to see the orb, to see the little vulnerable rock we're on is a shock and that shock permeated my whole being."
Actor William Shatner will be screening the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, followed by a Q and A session at the Golden State Theater in Monterey on Saturday, November 15th.