William Shatner on how He Landed 'Captain Kirk' Role - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 03-17-2023, 03:04 PM

William Shatner Explains how he Landed "Star Trek" Role as Captain Kirk
by James Hibberd
March 16, 2023

William Shatner recalled how he managed to land the role of Captain James T. Kirk on the original 1966 "Star Trek" series.

During the actor’s keynote interview at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League asked Shatner about how he got his career-changing gig.

“Talent,” Shatner initially deadpanned, to audience applause, but then he told the story.

As all Trek fans know, Jeffrey Hunter was cast in the NBC show’s first attempt at a pilot, “The Cage,” as Captain Christopher Pike.

“Jeffrey Hunter, good-looking guy, he was quite a name,” Shatner says. “They presented the pilot to NBC and then there’s that moment when the gods — and, in this case, NBC executives — decide to buy or not to buy. To buy, or not to buy, that is the question! They said, ‘No, we’re not going to buy it, because we don’t like it. But we like the idea.

So rewrite, recast and we’ll give you the money to do it.’ I’ve never heard of that happening before or since.” (To be fair, it’s actually happened many times since.)

“So they went around looking for a new captain,” Shatner continued.

“I was in New York doing some work. They called me and said, ‘Would you come and see the pilot?’ With the idea of me being the captain. And I watched the pilot [and thought], ‘Oh my God, that’s really good. Why didn’t they buy it?’ Yet [the actors] were a little ponderous. Like, [soberly] ‘Helmsman, turn to the Starboard.’ You’ve been out five years in the middle of space, wouldn’t you say, [casually] ‘Hey, George, turn left’? ‘There’s a meteor coming!’… ‘Well, get out of the way!’ So I added a little lightness. Then it sold. And that’s the answer.”

Shatner also said his worst “role” ever was one time when he attempted to give a stand-up comedy performance as Captain Kirk, with the joke being that Kirk would deliver cliche one-liner jokes and not understand why he wasn’t funny.

Yet the bit bombed spectacularly. “It was probably the the worst thing that ever happened to me,” Shatner said.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...sw-1235354396/

stevea · 03-17-2023, 04:10 PM

Interesting. But I think most of Kirk's "lightness" came in the later episodes.

CosmicCharlie · 04-02-2023, 05:23 PM

"Fascinating !"

03-17-2023, 03:04 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,136	William Shatner on how He Landed 'Captain Kirk' Role *William Shatner Explains how he Landed "Star Trek" Role as Captain Kirk* by James Hibberd March 16, 2023 William Shatner recalled how he managed to land the role of Captain James T. Kirk on the original 1966 "Star Trek" series. During the actor’s keynote interview at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League asked Shatner about how he got his career-changing gig. “Talent,” Shatner initially deadpanned, to audience applause, but then he told the story. As all Trek fans know, Jeffrey Hunter was cast in the NBC show’s first attempt at a pilot, “The Cage,” as Captain Christopher Pike. “Jeffrey Hunter, good-looking guy, he was quite a name,” Shatner says. “They presented the pilot to NBC and then there’s that moment when the gods — and, in this case, NBC executives — decide to buy or not to buy. To buy, or not to buy, that is the question! They said, ‘No, we’re not going to buy it, because we don’t like it. But we like the idea. So rewrite, recast and we’ll give you the money to do it.’ I’ve never heard of that happening before or since.” (To be fair, it’s actually happened many times since.) “So they went around looking for a new captain,” Shatner continued. “I was in New York doing some work. They called me and said, ‘Would you come and see the pilot?’ With the idea of me being the captain. And I watched the pilot [and thought], ‘Oh my God, that’s really good. Why didn’t they buy it?’ Yet [the actors] were a little ponderous. Like, [soberly] ‘Helmsman, turn to the Starboard.’ You’ve been out five years in the middle of space, wouldn’t you say, [casually] ‘Hey, George, turn left’? ‘There’s a meteor coming!’… ‘Well, get out of the way!’ So I added a little lightness. Then it sold. And that’s the answer.” Shatner also said his worst “role” ever was one time when he attempted to give a stand-up comedy performance as Captain Kirk, with the joke being that Kirk would deliver cliche one-liner jokes and not understand why he wasn’t funny. Yet the bit bombed spectacularly. “It was probably the the worst thing that ever happened to me,” Shatner said. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...sw-1235354396/

03-17-2023, 04:10 PM	#2
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,745	Interesting. But I think most of Kirk's "lightness" came in the later episodes.

04-02-2023, 05:23 PM	#3
CosmicCharlie Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 14, 2019 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 2,444	"Fascinating !"