William Shatner Did Not Get Along with His Star Trek Castmates

Are you a fan of Star Trek, and its inimitable Captain Kirk? If so, you’re probably a fan of the legendary actor who played him, William Shatner. But did you know that Shatner was notorious for being difficult to work with on set, for having a huge ego, and for getting into feuds with his fellow Star Trek castmates?

▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 - Intro
00:31 - William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
04:35 - Shatner and Nimoy Made up… and Then Didn’t
06:19 - William Shatner and George Takei
07:34 - William Shatner and James Doohan and Walter Koenig
08:28 - Outro

In this video, we dive into several of the long-term issues that William Shatner has had with assorted Star Trek co-stars. We first talk about perhaps the most surprising and intense feud – the one he had with Leonard Nimoy. The origins are somehow not surprising at all, really. Like many folks in Hollywood, Shatner had issues with other people getting more attention than him. So, when during the onset of the growing popularity of Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy began to get more fan mail and attention from the press than he was getting, and he got jealous.

This jealousy turned into anger, which then turned into pettiness. Eventually, Nimoy became aware of Shatner’s issues, but by then it was too late. Shatner’s petty actions had set things off, and Nimoy was more than happy to be in a two-sided feud. Their issues lasted, on and off, for the remainder of their lives. Though, as you’ll see, the two did make up and become great friends. But amazingly, it took another turn for the worse in the years before Nimoy’s death.

We also talk about the feuds that Shatner has had over the years with legendary actor George Takei. This one has also extended well beyond the parameters of the Star trek Set. And we also talk about the frustrations that cast members like James Doohan and William Koenig had with Shatner’s ego. So check out this video today, as Facts Verse presents: William Shatner Did Not Get Along with His Star Trek Castmates!

William Shatner Did Not Get Along With His Star Trek Castmates

[FactsVerse]

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[oriraykai]

He seems to have overcome his ego problem as a senior citizen because he's got a good sense of self deprecating humor.

[CyndisKrist]

I think it's normal for differences to arise in most situations where two or more people are collaborating. I like to focus on what each of the cast members still contribute to my life as I continue watching this show 50+ years later. The captain and crew of the Enterprise shared both camaraderie and conflict, and they did it so well that the fanbase is still strong in the 21st century. That says a lot.

[noravanwyk]

Nimoy said on video that Shatner was his best friend. Nimo's daughter said after his death that he loved Shatner.
Nimoy was Shatner's best man at his 3rd wedding.
On video at a convention which both attended both spoke about the bicycle incidents and it was clear that both regarded those as pranks and that they loved each other.
This post is mean, petty and small.

[CaptRobertApril]

Shatner didn't *think* he was the star of the show, he *WAS* the star of the show. He was paid the star salary, he had top billing, and even had ownership of a small percentage of the show. Nimoy was signed as, and was paid as, the primary co-star. Add in De Kelley, and three of them were in virtually every scene, thus had the heaviest workloads of any of the rest of the *recurring* cast (none of them were regulars, several episodes did *not* feature Sulu, Uhura, Scotty, or Chekov, and they did frequently show up on other shows at the time).

[mackerel]

He did get on with members of cast and crew, he just did not get along with everyone. There is nothing unusual in that.

[lazyhazeldaisy]

Lets face it I love to watch Star Trek because of William Shatner he was gorgeous!

[PlasmaCoolantLeak]

I recall in one of his books, Shatner put it out there that he was willing to meet with Jimmy Doohan to iron out their differences. Doohan never took him up on it. Nichelle Nichols did call him out and from what Shatner wrote, he took her criticism well and made no excuses.

[skaetur]

Thanks Rocket Money! I was poor. Then I showed this video to my Uncle. He became my Grandfather and now we are healthy and rich. I turned all my RocketBux into lottery tickets and forty ounce beers for grandfather and his wife Auntie. They were very happy and had many gatherings filled with shrubs, bush, and Glenn’s knoll.

[lindajurd]

No matter what anybody says about Shatner, I think he is GREAT....

[noravanwyk]

Billy Blackburn a stand in in 70+ episodes of Star Trek took movies behind the scenes and he liked Shatner. According to him those 4 lied about Shatner. It is on YouTube.
Shatner was in numerous TV shows and films and his fellow actors, eg, TJ Hooker, Boston Legal etc all of them described Shatner just like Billy Blackburn did, as very professional, friendly and witty.

[luanahazlett]

I don't care, I am a die hard Shatner fan and love the series. The others are cool BUT there is only one JAMES FREAKIN TIBERIUS KIRK 🥰 LL&P. 🖖

[BondFreek]

I actually met George Takei. His ego is bigger than Shatner's. He constantly stirs up the pot to get attention away from Shatner.
A fine example of this is when Shatner went to space George Takei used it as an opportunity to insult Shatner.
Many of William Shatner's pranks were miscon skewed as not liking Nimoy. Hiding the bike was a joke. And Nimoy wasn't the only one subjected to William Shatner's childish pranks. But Leonard Nimoy was the only one who rode a bike so he wound up getting the brunt of it.
How to interpret Shatner's behavior over the years depends on who you ask. Some of the writers thought he was egotistical others was amazed by his generosity. It's interesting to note that all the girls loved kissing William Shatner.
Truth about the scripts is that William Shatner didn't have the time to complain about them.
Quite often he was pulled to the side to be given extra lines to memorize.
Contrary to popular belief it was never William Shatner's idea to get more lines. But he understood that being the star of the show meant that he had to take the blame in order to keep the peace between the writers and the cast and producers.
You would see this in all behind the scenes of the big hit shows of the '60s.
Wild wild West... Robert Conrad took full blame for getting lines that were meant for his co-star.
Batman Adam West got full blame for getting lines away from Robin.
The only shows where there wasn't any animosity among the cast with the shows that were written as an ensemble. Shows like Mission Impossible with the entire cast had equal screen time to bring down the bad guy or the Dick Van Dyke show when each character had to be developed fully in almost every episode.
But Star Trek Captain Kirk was the hero and therefore had to have most of the screen time. But the writers didn't have time to put up with people complaining to them so William Shatner took the butt of the blame. George Takei should not be complaining. During most of season 2 and 3 he wasn't even on set. They use stock footage to put them in his position at the helm. You will notice in many episodes where sulu is supposed to be there the camera pans him out of the screen and Pavel does most of the talking. Most TV shows are just write the actor out completely says he cannot fulfill his obligations in person. But Gene Roddenberry like the character sulu and his actor George Takei. This special treatment gave George an even bigger ego. One that's still swollen up today.

[kimmurphy]

Shatner and Nemoy were the stars, decided by the studio. The others were supporting actors. They knew that. Once the show became popular after it was canceled, the supporting actors became bitter they had not received more lines and scenes, even though they knew that going in. There was a brief rift between Nemoy and Shatner, however they made up and became fast friends thereafter.

[powerboatguy]

It is another work environment like you have everywhere. I've seen from others, including one of the behind the camera staff members that Shatner was very nice to actors and crew. You are always going to have moments of tension, they work very long hours and are under a lot of pressure to meet production deadlines. I think there were some jealousies, especially after the show was cancelled and Shatner had continued success in other shows. If you are the lead actor, you have a lot more scenes and work to put in than the other actors, plus you are have the additional pressure of having the franchise rest on your shoulders. I'm sure at times Shatner could have been moody and an actor like Walter Koenig who had much smaller parts got snapped at, this was his snapshot of Shatner.

[theoneandonly]

As James Doohan was once quoted as saying: " I'm very fond of Captain James T. Kirk, but of Bill Shatner, not so much. "

[trevorgwelch]

As Bill Shatner has said his work load was 50 X greater then the other actors . Over all he tried getting along with everyone . 😊

[skye.]

I still like William shatner. To me growing up he was a hero and Captain Kirk was one of the best characters ever created.

[greglavers]

He never took the time to get to know them is all. He worked fine with them. That videographer (Billy Blackburn) who gave us all those wonderful behind the scenes videos stated that Bill was a consummate pro and was always the life of the party on the set. How many of us know our fellow co-workers?

[adrianvanleeuwen]

The cast of TOS (excluding Shatner and Nimoy) came out to the outdoor area of city hall in Toronto Canada for I think it was the 25th anniversary with a cake cutting (in the shape of the Enterprise) and I got to see this with lots people from Toronto as it was open to the public. I do enjoy the TOS shows especially Spock, Kirk and McCoy and much has to do with good sci fi writing and some good acting. Although I knew about the feud of Shatner and Nimoy for years, but it was on and off again through the decades. Shatner being Canadian is occasionally spotted in Toronto, and did some one off episodes like Private Eyes more recently with Jason Priestley formerly of Beverly Hills 90120. It is possible to like an actor for his charisma and acting on screen, but also wonder about the behind the scenes at times. It is what it is! I liked the Captains series and watched them all.