Why Bill Shatner speaks the way he does

[CorporalCaptain]

Exaggerated physical gestures in acting are often rooted in a theatrical rather than cinematic background (effectiveness and quality of the exaggeration varies of course). Less the case today (what with mics and projection screens a frequent presence in larger venues), actors of Shatner's generation were trained to project to the "cheap seats" (while those down front knew that such projection was to be expected). When working in film and television, such actors had to tone things down considerably--some were better than others. Even the good ones (and Shatner could be quite good) usually did their best work in the hands of a skilled director (or at least one who could override the actor's propensity for hamming it up--though even Kubrick could not entirely reign two giants (Olivier and Laughton) in Spartacus.) I have often suspected that Shatner's lesser performances, in Trek or elsewhere, owed as much to a lack of strong direction to his opinion of the script. This is true of MANY actors, but particularly of classically trained stage actors.

This all seems completely reasonable to me.

It occurs to me, thinking about this, that the black-and-white TV with dodgy tuning that I sometimes had to watch TOS on back in the day, on UHF during 1970s syndication, certainly constituted the "cheap seats" of television viewing in that era; Shatner reached me through that.

 

[RColtrane]

That's because the comedians exaggerate it. Sometimes a person's reputation comes more from the parodies of that person than from the person themselves (e.g. Gerald Ford's reputation as a klutz coming from Saturday Night Live, when in reality he was quite the athlete). The comedians tend to cherrypick the few most extreme moments in Shatner's performances and present them as the default.

Honestly, I've never understood why people think Shatner's delivery is odd. It's normal for people to stumble and hesitate when they speak, or to have to pause mid-sentence to think of what they want to say next. Shatner doesn't just recite memorized lines, he makes it look like his character is making them up as he goes, which is more realistic.

And it's not like he's the only actor to do it, even in Star Trek. Scott Bakula's speaking style is far more pause-laden than Shatner's. Sometimes it's practically like the DMV scene in Zootopia waiting for him to get a whole line out.

Don't forget about Cristopher Walken... OMG! I should not even start talking about this guy

 

[FreddyE]

I always thought his style of speaking is that way because he was trained as a stage actor. Stage acting requires a much more "heavy" acting style...which can come across as weird and over-acting on TV.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Case in point:

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How can you not like that speech? I do, even if it's what people find hammy in Shatner's acting.

 

[Kor]

I've known plenty of people who are way more expressive and "hammy" than that in real, everyday life.

I don't understand why we have come to expect acting to be so subtle to the point of sheer blandness. That isn't even realistic.

Kor

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I want a five-minute scene on TV or a movie with Shatner, Walken...and...Allison...Hannigan----together.

On second.....thought, TEN minutes.

Better make it an hour.

Reminds me of this MXC joke about Christopher Walken reading a nursery rhyme:

There once was a woman...who lived in a shoe...okay...with all these...kids...until one day...they just killed her...with this...spoon...so good night...and sweet dreams...

 

[Trekfan12]

How can you not like that speech? I do, even if it's what people find hammy in Shatner's acting.

yep RISK is their business. I think there are tons of merchandise with this saying on them.

 

[velour]

Hey, Kirk taught me the preamble to the Constitution. (Well, him and schoolhouse rock.)

This is from the episode, Shatner's Glory, er, I mean "The Omega Glory". This was Shatner at his most theatrical. You can say that the speech was served with a side of ham and cheese.

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That was a very good recital of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution and an excellent impassioned speech of its ideals from a Canadian-born actor.

 

[FormerLurker]

Until he blew the most important line by saying "Oritmeansnothing" instead of "Or it means NOTHING"

But nobody ever always gets it right, so I forgive him.

 

[johnnybear]

I'mnotsurethey'resure!!!
JB

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Until he blew the most important line by saying "Oritmeansnothing" instead of "Or it means NOTHING"

But nobody ever always gets it right, so I forgive him.

Nah, that was the best part of the whole freaking episode.

 

[1001001]

Better make it an hour.

Reminds me of this MXC joke about Christopher Walken reading a nursery rhyme:

There once was a woman...who lived in a shoe...okay...with all these...kids...until one day...they just killed her...with this...spoon...so good night...and sweet dreams...

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[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I don't know about William Shatner, but this humorous cartoon postulates why Kirk speaks the way he does.

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[Ezekiel]

I found this video clip from Bruce Campbell. I thought it was well done. I never really noticed the stilted speech as much as when comedians do bits on Bill Shatner

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I have seen this before. I am pretty sure he was taught this for dramatic effect

 

[A beaker full of death]

I've seen Walken do a lot of Shakespeare in NY. Most of it really bad. But he was the best damn Iago I've ever seen.

 

[Mysterion]

And it's not like he's the only actor to do it, even in Star Trek. Scott Bakula's speaking style is far more pause-laden than Shatner's. Sometimes it's practically like the DMV scene in Zootopia waiting for him to get a whole line out.

Which, IMO is a bit of a nod to the classic Bob & Ray bit:

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[Elder Knight]

We all know that Shatner got a lot of flack for saying "Bones, I need you" twice in the early scene in STTMP.


In the Robert Bolt play, A Man For All Seasons, Thomas More has a speech:

"Why, it’s a theory, yes; you can’t see it; can’t touch it; it’s a theory. But what matters to me is not whether it's true or not, but that I believe it to be true, or rather, not that I believe it, but that I believe it ... I trust I make myself obscure?"

Yes, it's obscure in that the words are the same, but the emphasis is different. More knows that his responsibility is for his own commitment rather than for the idea.


I've always wondered whether Kirk's delivery shouldn't have emphasized the "I" the second time around. I.e., this isn't just anybody asking you back, it's me, Kirk!

I wonder if Shatner had performed in the Bolt play. Based upon this, I'm guessing he hadn't.

 

[Spock's Barber]

"Dammit, Jim. You're a Starship Captain, not a washed up comedian."

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[Tallguy]

On Better Late Than Never this week Jeff Dye did a bit where he talked about Shatner's speech.

He said Bill is known. For the. Long. Pauses. In his. Speech. But then he said if you get to know Bill, that's not how he talks. You find out that Bill NEVER pauses when he talks.

I thought it was hilarious.

 

[Phoenix219]

There is a segment going around; not sure if its from Better Late Then Never, of Shatner talking about how Captain Kirk NEVER said "Beam me up Scotty"..... Winkler looks confused as all hell, and the crazy underbelly of the internet is using it as proof that Henry is suffering from the "Mandela Effect" - becaues, don't you know, someone has erased that pop culture phrase right from history, which means we are in another Universe! :eyeroll: