William Shatner Prepares To Die: 'Star Trek' Star Admits He 'Doesn't Have Long To Live'
March 12 2023, Published 11:30 a.m. ET
William Shatner opened up about his waning health and how he wants to live "every day like it's his last."
The 91-year-old Star Trek legend kicked off the press tour for his new biographical documentary You Can Call Me Bill with an honest look back at his life and 60-year-long career.
"I’ve turned down a lot of offers to do documentaries before. But I don’t have long to live," Shatner told Variety.
"Whether I keel over as I’m speaking to you or 10 years from now, my time is limited, so that’s very much a factor. I’ve got grandchildren. This documentary is a way of reaching out after I die."
When asked whether he had learned anything about himself through working on the doc, he answered, "I’m trying to discover something I’ve never said before or to find a way to say something I’ve said before in a different way so I can explore that truth further."
He also lamented on the concept of older individuals dying before they can pass their wisdom onto the next generation.
The actor joked that "there is no legacy," and revealed that he doesn’t regret most of the decisions he’s made in his life, including not attending his Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy’s funeral.
"When Leonard Nimoy died a few years ago, his funeral was on a Sunday. His death was very sudden, and I had obligated myself to go to Mar-a-Lago for a Red Cross fundraiser," the actor explained. "I was one of the celebrities raising money ... I chose to keep my promise and go to Mar-a-Lago instead of the funeral."
Shatner suggested that people are fallible, but most grievances are eventually forgotten after death.
"Statues are torn down. Graveyards are ransacked. Headstones are knocked over. No one remembers anyone. Who remembers Danny Kaye or Cary Grant? They were great stars. But they’re gone and no one cares. But what does live on, are good deeds. If you do a good deed, it reverberates to the end of time. It’s the butterfly effect thing."
He added that he's also tried to avoid negative headlines when he can.
"Who cares?" Shatner asked. "I know what I did was right. So it doesn’t matter. We’re criticized when we lift a finger. I don’t read that stuff. I try to not . . . indulge in the evil that’s out there."
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Shatner has acted in over 240 films and TV shows, from Star Trek and Boston Legal to Miss Congeniality and My Little Pony.
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