TMC
02-18-2015, 05:17 PM
http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/william-shatner/243815/the-top-10-william-shatner-performances-that-arent-kirk
Geek god Mr. William Shatner has an array of non-Star Trek movie roles under his belt. Outside of Captain Kirk, which are his best?
William Shatner is a curious case of international super-stardom. He’s a man who spent his most active years in acting being regularly lumbered with naff effects and "testing" fight choreography, while himself being frequently guilty of chewing the scenery into a mush of cardboard and flashing lights. But of course, we all love him in spite of that.
In fact, you could probably argue that we love him because of that. He’s a science fiction icon who embraced the ridiculousness of the genre when the occasion demanded, accepting hammy over-emotional fare with open arms.
When he reined it in, Shatner was equally capable of turning in excellent performances. Hollywood legend has it that Nicholas Meyer (director of seminal Star Trek feature The Wrath Of Khan, as well as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) made him film his scenes over and over again until his ego, bravado, and overacting fell away. The result was an undeniably fantastic leading performance in one of the best-loved science fiction films of all time.
In his wider non-Kirk career, the mighty Mr. Shatner has continued to deliver on both counts, with some unnecessarily hammy but nonetheless loveable shtick sharing the lines of his lengthy filmography with some genuinely terrific performances across straight-faced drama, stellar voice work and (often self-parodying) comedy.
Before we get to that, though, it would be remiss not to mention the – ahem – less-than-good section of Shatner’s extracurricular performances away from his main franchise. This Shatner sub-genre stretches from cheap sci-fi B-movies like Escape From Planet Earth to hugely questionable decisions like taking a role in the straight-to-DVD sequel to American Psycho. Yep, that’s a real thing…
Geek god Mr. William Shatner has an array of non-Star Trek movie roles under his belt. Outside of Captain Kirk, which are his best?
William Shatner is a curious case of international super-stardom. He’s a man who spent his most active years in acting being regularly lumbered with naff effects and "testing" fight choreography, while himself being frequently guilty of chewing the scenery into a mush of cardboard and flashing lights. But of course, we all love him in spite of that.
In fact, you could probably argue that we love him because of that. He’s a science fiction icon who embraced the ridiculousness of the genre when the occasion demanded, accepting hammy over-emotional fare with open arms.
When he reined it in, Shatner was equally capable of turning in excellent performances. Hollywood legend has it that Nicholas Meyer (director of seminal Star Trek feature The Wrath Of Khan, as well as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) made him film his scenes over and over again until his ego, bravado, and overacting fell away. The result was an undeniably fantastic leading performance in one of the best-loved science fiction films of all time.
In his wider non-Kirk career, the mighty Mr. Shatner has continued to deliver on both counts, with some unnecessarily hammy but nonetheless loveable shtick sharing the lines of his lengthy filmography with some genuinely terrific performances across straight-faced drama, stellar voice work and (often self-parodying) comedy.
Before we get to that, though, it would be remiss not to mention the – ahem – less-than-good section of Shatner’s extracurricular performances away from his main franchise. This Shatner sub-genre stretches from cheap sci-fi B-movies like Escape From Planet Earth to hugely questionable decisions like taking a role in the straight-to-DVD sequel to American Psycho. Yep, that’s a real thing…