The Many Iterations of William Shatner 152
pickens writes "The NY Times weekend magazine has a long profile, well worth reading, of self-described 'working actor' William Shatner. He began acting at age 6 and at one point in the late 1950s was mentioned in the same breath as his contemporaries Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Robert Redford — until, without explanation, his career faded before it bloomed. Shatner, now 79, pulls no punches in his memories of the Star Trek years. 'I never thought it'd become a big deal, just 13 episodes and out,' says Shatner. 'I didn't think I was hard to get along with. There were a few disaffected actors who came in once a week. I had nothing to do with them. Friendly! I was working seven days a week, learning 10 pages of dialogue a day. They had one line!' Which was the beginning of the William Shatner character. 'They said I was this William Shatner character, and I figured I had to be it. Pompous, takes himself seriously, hardheaded.' Shatner said that that character evolved slowly, until one day he realized he couldn’t change it. 'So I played it. But I didn’t see it. That character doesn’t seem like me to me. I know the real William Shatner.'"
Distance to himself (Score:3, Interesting)
Shatner has what some actors actually lacks - a kind of distance to himself so he doesn't think that he is something more than he is.
I think they glossed over some of his history (Score:3, Interesting)
The 70's weren't good to the Shat. That and Star Trek V. The only reason there were so many horses in that movie is because he liked them.
Re:I think they glossed over some of his history (Score:5, Interesting)
Cheers,
Ian
SNL skit (Score:5, Interesting)
He had talent (Score:5, Interesting)
Shatner was definately talented.
Not sure if he lacked "big screen" presence, just had a couple bad breaks on the big screen, or if he got typecast by Star Trek.
He seemed to break free of the typecasting at the end. Denny Crane is not Kirk.
And as the other person said, Shatner had both a large ego and a unique ability to puncture that ego himself.
Not sure about the bad blood between him and the other stars. Could just be the nature of the game (He and Nimoy were bigger stars and got different treatment).
I thought Galaxy Quest was an excellent send up of the whole trek phenomenon.
Re:SNL skit (Score:5, Interesting)
That same episode of SNL had a send-up of TJ Hooker where Shatner is trapped on the hood of a car full of fleeing felons, writing a note to his ex-wife: "it's been three days now... they have to run out of gas soon..."
Shatner's on my list of celebrities who I like just because they went on SNL and were good at either mocking themselves, or worked hard to actually do good comedy. See Garth Brooks (who did a Mango sketch), Jason Priestly, and Justin Timberlake as the dancing milkshake.
decent bloke (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hmmmm... (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, I'm not so sure that William Shatner always seems to speak his mind. It seems to me that William Shatner the person always seems to speak the mind of 'William Shatner' the public persona, while being very clear that the two aren't necessarily the same. I find that slightly terrifying, like the clown from the Stephen King novel.
Actors are sometimes persons prone to insecurity and self-loathing. Perhaps the nature of the job attracts such people. Anyhow, one likes to see an interview with a favorite actor in which the actor seems like a *real person*. Of course that "real person" may be (probably is) a work of art. That's what actors do. When you get an entertainer who is so clueless you see the person behind the persona, it's disturbing.
Shatner is in a class of his own. He's completely up front about playing a persona ... but who is it who's being up front about that? It's just another persona. Underneath the blatant egotism and insecurity you get a peek of the guy who's laughing at the whole circus, but what would you see if you look behind *that* guy? You peel back the outer layers of the onion, and you get ... more onion.
What's fascinating, fun, and frightening aren't the *iterations* of William Shatner, but the *recursions*.
Read a few of his books.... seen most of his shows (Score:5, Interesting)
and regardless of negative traits assigned to him I see him as what I would want in most actors. Yes he stuck with the Kirk role a long time but he did good clean breaks from it. Kirk was an iconic character and any actor with that as part of his resume will always be shadowed by the character's traits which may not necessarily be the actors. Yeah, read all the "Bad blood" between him and Takei, the "feud" with Nimoy, but honestly, which of all them did as much as he did? He didn't stop. Of course I do like Koneig from TOS too. At least Shatner wasn't afraid to make jokes about his role, let alone slip little asides into other shows which automatically connected you back to Kirk without being outlandish (his phone on BL was pretty good and subtle)
73 years, I wonder what it is like to do something you love for so long, hell I would be happy with half that in a career I enjoyed.
Re:I think they glossed over some of his history (Score:5, Interesting)
In an Michael Caine movie, you can be pretty sure it will at least have a bit of good acting. But there's no guarantee about anything else in the film; it may be crap, so the fact he's in it is not, in itself, much incentive to go see it. In contrast, an actor with a good track record is a big draw, and that is reflected in the actor's paycheck. Both quantity and quality are valid strategies for turning a buck, but are you saying the strategy of quantity is actually more respectable?
Badly written but amusing (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyway, I have always had a soft spot for William Shatner. I grew up with the Star Trek series and loved it. Still do. Now it has more of an ironic appeal (it's great because it is so cheesy), but I am also really enamoured with the look and sound of it, the production values. They did amazing stuff with limited resources. and every once in a while there was some really good writing. And the actors just got on with the job and were believable and consistent in their roles. Shatner was Jim Kirk. No question in my mind about that.
I really have no interest in the Star Trek movies. The subsequent series failed to get my attention. There is something special about the original series.
I confess to having watched and enjoyed TJ Hooker (kill me now!) but in my defense I must posit that it was a case of pubescent hormones. Can't imagine what I saw in Heather Locklear. Tramp!
A friend put me on to the album that Shatner did. Musically it was uninteresting to me but Shatner's lyrics and delivery were surprisingly listenable. Yes, funny and silly, but there is also a surprising depth.
Sounds to me like he might actually be a bit of fun to hang out with. Amazing energy for an old guy. Not bad for an old geezer. Pat Jordan strikes me as an untalented whiner. I'd be delighted to hang out with William Shatner for a day and a half. He/she made it sound like a chore. And of course Pat had to inject his/her whiny biographical details into the piece. Who is it about, Pat or Bill? Ultimately it is all about Pat. Poor Pat. Poor poor Pat.
Yes, I RTFA!
Re:Hmmmm... (Score:5, Interesting)
It seems to me that William Shatner the person always seems to speak the mind of 'William Shatner' the public persona, while being very clear that the two aren't necessarily the same.
We are who we pretend to be. Our interactions with others define the kind of person we are. The "real you" that no one ever sees is an idealized fantasy...
Re:He had talent (Score:5, Interesting)
Very, very funny.
To the best of my knowledge, any profession that involves getting up in front of huge numbers of people requires a certain kind of ego - or projection of an ego whether it be the real person or not. Most actors, musicians etc. get up there and act a part. Some of them are really bad at it. Bono, for example is probably a decent guy but he has never failed to come across as a total douchebag. Tom Cruise can't really be a total c**t. Can he? I'm guessing that Shatner has spent so long doing this stuff that his 'real life' persona in interviews is some weird projection of what he thinks he is and what he expect people to think he is. So he, like so many 'stars' plays it up and sometimes the results are decidedly weird. Combine that with idiot reporters and we have a panoply of stars that resemble sideshow freaks!
These days, I tend to err on the side of giving people a break. Big targets are easier to hit, so we trash them at the expense of our own integrity.
Live long and prosper Jim Kirk
Re:Hmmmm... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:SNL skit (Score:4, Interesting)
He was a bit funny in the SNL bit, but I find it a bit uncomfortable to watch him in other roles as a puffy-faced obnoxious alcoholic or whatever.
It is fun to do through old pre-Trek classic tv shows and see him and other Trek actors. The Twilight Zone had a good 1963 episode with the big Shat in the episode Nightmare at 20,000 feet.
(from wikipedia) "Bob Wilson (William Shatner) is a salesman on an airplane for the first time since his nervous breakdown six months ago. He spots a gremlin on the wing of the plane. Every time someone else looks out the window, the gremlin leaps out of view, so nobody believes Bob's seemingly outlandish claim. Bob realizes that his wife is starting to think he needs to go back to the sanitarium, but also, if nothing is done about the gremlin, it will damage the plane and cause it to crash. Bob steals a sleeping policeman's revolver, and opens the window marked "Auxiliary Exit" to shoot the gremlin, succeeding despite the fact that he is nearly blown out of the plane himself. Once the plane has landed, although he is whisked away in a straitjacket, a final shot reveals evidence of his claims: the unusual damage to the plane's engine nacelle -- yet to be discovered by mechanics."
Perhaps less remembered, is an episode of the Outer Limits - Cold Hands, Warm Heart also from 1963. It's really strange seeing him associated with something called "Project Vulcan" years before Trek...
(from an Amazon review) "Brig. General Jeff Barton, (William Shatner), completes a round-trip one man space flight to the planet Venus to promote the feasability of the Mars colonization project "Vulcan". During a break in radio communication Barton encouters an alien being on Venus who manages to infect his body causing him to change gradually into something not entirely human. These changes require him to seek out higher temperatures as though adapting to the climate of planet Venus. Upon discovery of Barton's condition, Dr. Mike, (Malachi Throne), uses blood transfusions and a high temperature pressure chamber to reverse the process. Oddly enough, this is actually a love story focusing on Mrs. Ann Barton, (Geraldine Brooks), and her struggle to win back her husband from both his driving ambition and the alien interloper."
I think it's more fun finding catching other Trek and SciFi actors in different shows. George Takei (Sulu) in a 1960 Episode of detective series Hawaiian Eye... Seeing Ted Cassidy [wikipedia.org], better known as Lurch, as the blond buffed-out shirtless slave in 1966 Lost in Space - The Thief from Outer Space was a surprise (of course just seeing him human and colorful was quite a contrast). Cassidy portrayed the voice of the more aggressive version of Balok in the Star Trek episode "The Corbomite Maneuver", and he played the role of the android Ruk in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?." He also voiced the Gorn in the Star Trek episode "Arena". He also had guest shots on the classics The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Dream of Jeannie, and The Beverly Hillbillies.
Looking back and seeing where some more recent sci-fi actors have been can bring a few chuckles too. It was funny realizing the Ronon Dex [wikipedia.org] (actor Jason Momoa) of Stargate Atlantis had also been a Baywatch lifeguard. During one mission some fun was made of the nature of old Earth television...facial expressions had a hint of the inside joke.
Re:Hmmmm... (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Hmmmm... (Score:5, Interesting)
I worked with the bastard in 1979, it was during the time of his "TJ Hooker" series where he played the 'tough on drugs' cop. The man is a total and absolute ass. I was a techie in a summer stock theatre in Michigan when the Broadway show he was in came to town. The luxury condo that the theatre had, which that same summer hosted actual actors like Van Johnson and Dottie Lamor, wasn't good enough so we had to rent him a the most expensive suite in the most expensive hotel in town, rent him an 18 foot sailboat that he could pilot alone for the entire week (which he never used), and have 12 bottles of Perrier water in the refrigerator at all times. He was arrogant, rude, and condescending to everyone below his lofty status. None of us could stand the asshole.
The younger generation's view of Shatner (Score:4, Interesting)
My nephew told me that he was a fan of William Shatner. I asked him if he knew what role Shatner was most famous for.
"Boston Legal," he replied.
"No, before that"
(blank look)
"He was the first captain on Star Trek."
He looked puzzled, then asked,
"You mean the bald dude?"