Ask William Shatner

At long last William Shatner has volunteered himself to be strapped into the Slashdot Interviewee Victim Chair. You know the gig: Post your questions for the man, the moderators do their thing, and in a week or so we post the answers. So here's your chance to ask questions to the star of Iron Chef USA, Miss Congeniality and TJ Hooker!

Your break into the Biz and early work

[Anonymous Coward]

Mr. Shatner, I have questions about your break into the business. I think everyone knows you made it big with Star Trek but I know you did many things before hand. Like the movie Incubus (I watched it on Sci-FI a while back)it reminded me of the episode of the Twilight Zone you were in. Do you still speak Esperanto? Do you have any Sci-FI or fantasy type projects you are working on that you can tell us about? Thanks for all the shows you've done in the past and hopefully some more in the future.

The balance between Hollywood and Real Life

[Geek In Training]

As a normal everyday guy from Canada, it seems hard for "the public" to grasp the diparity between "Bill Shatner, age 61, three adult children, loves horses" and "Actor/Singer/Producer/Writer William Shatner blah blah blah fourth wife ... blah blah blah personal tragedy .... blah blah blah inside scoop" that Hollywood and the Tabloid press seem to turn everyone's life into.

At the end of the day, has the fame been worth the price? Is knowing that you've raised three daughters and entertained people for several decades worth the cost of your privacy? Do you feel that overall, you've gotten a fair shake, even after all the public airings of your alleged failings as a person? Are you going to continue to live in the limelight during your golden years, or settle in and call it good, letting the cards land where they may?

Do you feel you've finished your professional legacy and are ready to leave it for media history, or do you fret over whether or not that legacy is "good enough?" And the same regarding your personal legacy as a man, a husband, a father, a son? What advice can you give to others so that they don't have any regrets?

Re:intelligent life

[pnatural]

I'm gonna get flamed for sounding like a big fat meanie for saying this but, come on! Shatner is an actor. Actors act, they don't know squat about science, foreign policy, or the price of tea in China. (for the most part, of course, please excuse my generalization).

Granted, actors are people too *cough*, and they're entitled to their incorrect opinion just like the rest of us. But to ask them questions on subjects based on their acting resume is just plain foolish. Shatner doesn't have some keen insight into the nature of the Universe because he played a star ship captain.

I don't believe it

[Dr. Spork]

Come on. A member of Iggy Pop's band not drinking? In 1975? Surely they could have made up something more plausible.

a simple question

[mike77]

Mr. Shatner. Can I call ya Will? In either case my question is relatively simple. You've been acting for many years in many different rolls. you've become something of a cultural icon for many people (alot of geeks). My question is what kind of a legacy would you like to leave? Many will argue and place on you different ones, but when you finally leave the public spotlight, in what way would you like to be remembered?

How did you happen to land the role of Kirk?

[orichter]

As I understand it, Jeffery Hunter was originally offered the part of Captain Captain of the Enterprise (he played Christopher Pike in the Pilot), but turned it down after the Pilot was filmed. First, is this accurate, and second:

Obviously, this was your big break into showbusiness, but did it feel like it at the time. How did this part come to you, and when did you realize this show would be this big, when did you realize you had been typecast and that you would be forever known as Captain Kirk, and did you go through any of the disgust with that typecast like Leonard Nemoy did?

Do you get tired of the trekkies?

[deepvoid]

I was in Vegas during a convention (unrelated to Star Trek) when I saw the oddest assortment of people coming out of an adjoining conference hall... Pointy ears, green faces, goofy face grooves (you know the sort), and I knew immediately who and what they were about. To my astonishment, I saw you signing autographs at the front while peering curiously through the door. You didn't look very happy as a gapped toothed fem-nerd asked you a bunch of questions in a staccato barrage.

Are you happy about the whole trekky thing, or is something you just endure?

Re:The balance between Hollywood and Real Life

[(H)olyGeekboy]

It's a very well-reasoned and thought-provoking question, I believe.

There are not a lot of people who would think to ask such things point-blank to a "celebrity." But the truth is, he is just a man. At 61 years old, he's probably learned more than a few things.

If he can impart some of that knowledge on us, everyone is the better.

Re:intelligent life

[Anonymous Coward]

And the 'geeks' around here have a clue about foreign policy? Half of the people around here don't seem to be aware of the difference between China and Taiwan, or that "Africa" is not a country.. and yet they still manage to have such strong opinions about foreign policy regarding these places .. pretty amazing really.