Old Shatner Unrecognizable To Current Shatner

[TrekToday]

Looking back on his work on the original series is a bit off-putting to the seventy-seven-year-old William Shatner.

As reported by The Times-South Africa, the young man of the 1960s is a stranger to Shatner. "He’s a complete stranger," said Shatner. "Not only is he physically foreign, emotionally I don’t know where I was at that time. There's also a certain amount of revulsion involved. How could I have looked that young? What happened? I should have taken more vitamins. It's totally science-fictional."

Shatner has always lived life to the fullest, engaging in various adventurous activities ranging from flying a stunt plane to racing a car. He offers this advice for enjoying the experience, whatever it may be. "In striving to experience things, you may be rushing the experience. That carries with it the seeds of its own displeasure, and you have to guard against that."

Shatner's role as Kirk led to fame for the Canadian actor. When he got into acting, he never thought that he was destined to be famous. "I never had any expectation," he said. "I attribute a great deal of it all to luck. I think the pursuit of success is environmental; I had wonderful parents who encouraged and supported me and taught me the value of money and hard work."

To read more, head to the article located here.

[tomalak301]

I've always been awed at the significant difference between Shatner of the original series and Shatner of the movies. Where did all that hair come from? It really is like there were two different Shatners doing the same role. It's also interesting in that now he is quite funny, but before, he was a little bland. Thank god for acting experiance I guess.

[Pioneer]

I remember seeing Shatner and Nimoy on a game show (I think it was the Match Game) shortly after the Original Series was canceled. Shatner behaved like a total goofball. It was almost as if he was trying to distance himself from the Kirk character. Nimoy was basically the same as he is today. And Shatner behaved more like you see him nowadays as Denny Crane with a lot of silliness and forced humor. I think The Shat was afraid of being typecast while Nimoy was happy to be cast at all. Funny since Nimoy had an easier time of it immediately after TOS.

[JonathonWally]

tomalak301 wrote:

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I've always been awed at the significant difference between Shatner of the original series and Shatner of the movies. Where did all that hair come from?

Mail order catalog?

[RandyS]

JonathonWally wrote:

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Mail order catalog?

I was going to say Chia Pet.

[Procutus]

Pioneer wrote:

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I think The Shat was afraid of being typecast while Nimoy was happy to be cast at all. Funny since Nimoy had an easier time of it immediately after TOS.

One of Nimoy's post-TOS projects I recall fondly is a made-for-TV supernatural thriller called Baffled. And I also greatly enjoyed the series he narrated, In Search Of, which introduced me to the mystery of the Oak Island treasure.

[Basil]

When I watched "Star Trek" reruns as a child, my mother always commented that Shatner looked like he'd just been cracking jokes before a scene was shot -- she always sensed a slight air of silliness in his face, even when the scene was one of high drama or Shakespearean intensity. She said for years that he should be doing comedy instead of more serious roles.

[Balthier the Great]

Basil wrote:

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When I watched "Star Trek" reruns as a child, my mother always commented that Shatner looked like he'd just been cracking jokes before a scene was shot -- she always sensed a slight air of silliness in his face, even when the scene was one of high drama or Shakespearean intensity. She said for years that he should be doing comedy instead of more serious roles.

I said the same after I saw Boston Legal. The guy is funny.

[Colonel Green]

I thought the "old Shatner" WAS the current Shatner Did he find the fountain of youth?

[Jack Bauer]

tomalak301 wrote:

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I've always been awed at the significant difference between Shatner of the original series and Shatner of the movies. Where did all that hair come from?

Hair weave?

[Pioneer]

Procutus wrote:

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One of Nimoy's post-TOS projects I recall fondly is a made-for-TV supernatural thriller called Baffled. And I also greatly enjoyed the series he narrated, In Search Of, which introduced me to the mystery of the Oak Island treasure.

I always liked In Search Of.

[Procutus]

^

In Search Of was great for its time. Granted, it rehashed a lot of popular mysteries, the usual fare of tabloids such as UFOs, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and others, but it also delved into a lot of lesser known topics as well (such as the Money Pit).

I know a little bit about the making of that particular show, as I've corresponded with D'Arcy O'Connor, who was involved with the production. Filming and recreation of historical scenes were filmed in Nova Scotia on the mainland, and shots of the island were taken from the air. Leonard did the narration in Los Angeles after the footage was assembled. I don't think that he ever visited any of the locations used in the show, to the best of my knowledge.