All language subtitles for The.Captains.Close.Up.S01E01_English

'Cause, you know,
people ask me about you.

You're notorious
on many levels,
you know.

[ Whispering ]
"What's he really like?"

You've excited or stimulated
this conversation
all over the place,

and I have to say,
whatever else you may be--

and you're probably
mad as a hatter.

When they take your brain apart,
they're gonna find out
that you were singularly nuts.

You are a genuine guy,
and what's more to the point,

is that you're an original--
you're a true original.

Shatner's like
Mr. Television.

Bill Shatner-- You can't
turn on the TV without
seeing him in something.

It's amazing
how he's morphed into
so many different people.

The twinkle in his eye...

has just gotten brighter
and brighter and brighter.

He's still got the thing
that I found so sexy,

which is a fire
in his belly...

that he's not afraid
to light and show.

I'm William Shatner,

and this is
The Captains Close Up
with... William Shatner.

How did that happen?

Do you make your own luck?

Have you, Bill Shatner,
made your own luck?

'Cause I don't know
any other person
as driven as you.

You know,
I don't think of myself
as being driven.

You don't?
No.

I think of myself saying,
Hey, I've been given
this opportunity.

I think I should take it
and grasp the opportunity,

because tomorrow I may not
have that opportunity.

I am still the actor
who was saying,

I wonder when the next job
is coming.

I've got three kids.
How am I gonna feed them?

How am I gonna get
above $1,800 in my bank?

- That tape sill plays
in your mind?
- Absolutely.

Does it really?
Oh, my God.

You don't stop.

You're indefatigable
and ubiquitous.

[ Both Laughing ]

[ Shatner Narrating ]
My luck's been pretty good
over the last several years.

In fact,
on a scale of one to 10,
I'd say it was 110.

I've never been busier,
and that's good,

'cause "idle" is not
in my vocabulary.

I've done television series,
recorded albums,

toured all over the world
with my one-man show,

died and been reborn,

been in pole vaulting
competitions...

and done a lot
of documentaries.

Well, technically,
I haven't had a pole in my hands
in quite a while.

But I am on
my ninth documentary,
and it just so happens--

It's on,
wouldn't you know it, me.

Yeah, I know it's a little weird
making a show about yourself,

but, hey,
I'm contractually obligated.

In 2011
I produced and directed...

The Captains,
a documentary about
all the captains of Star Trek.

I traveled over 25,000 miles,
gained a lot of insight--
and some weight--

but what I also found out
were some things about myself.

As it turns out,
Kate Mulgrew was the one
that brought them to light.

I'm always curious...

as to what your
deepest need is,

either vis-à-vis
your deepest insecurity...

or vis-à-vis
who you really are.

Is your deepest need
to perform, to work,

or is your deepest need
to love?

I realize,
at my late age--

Mm-hmm?

that the most important thing
in life is love.

But I also recognize this--

that in order to love,

even if you have the object
of your love beside you,

you need to be healthy.

You need the energy,
the excess energy...

from... staying well.

Anything above that
you can devote to somebody else.

But if you're not well,
you can't love...

'cause you're so consumed
with survival.

- You think that's true?
- I absolutely think
that's true.

- I agree with you.
- That survival precedes love.

Survival takes many forms,

like work.

So if you're
surviving by work
and surviving in your health,

you have the sexual energy,

or the erotic energy...

to lavish on other things,

which means your love object,

pets, house, art--

This is Picasso.
One feeds the other.

- Did Picasso say that?
- I agree with that.

Then I'll buy a Picasso.

But I've noted this in men,
again, I am saying,
of your stripe,

of your ego size
and strength.

Your ego strikes me
as being singularly, um--
[ Chuckles ] intact.

Or very,
very healthy.
Why would you say that?

And right next to that
is your libido, which is
also very healthy.

And what you get
from your work just
sort of goes right in.

It's like a little box
feeding.

But of course.
Mm-hmm.

Absolutely.

So that as age
comes upon you...

and the hormonal drives
are lessened...

and then
finally extinguished--

Oh, say it ain't so.

and as the fire of life
begins to be banked,

your-- your erotic energy
begins to disappear...

and the fire that you bring
to things you do...

goes away.

And that hasn't happened
to me yet.

I knew there was gonna be
a punch line to that.

- That hasn't happened
to you yet?
- Not yet.

[ Shatner Narrating ]
What is there left to do
after 70 years in the busines?

Well, talk about it,
of course, on Broadway.

This is it.
Scott Faris,
the director.

Shatner.
One of the producers,
Larry Thompson.

Into the night I rode.

I was part of the city,
part of the night,
part of the road.

The cycle you're working on
is the cycle called yourself.

- And that's where you were.
- And that's what I did.

- Night after night after night.
- Great. Then get right to
the punch line now.

So I need that economy.
That's very tight
and very good.

Stratford, Ontario. Classical
company. We dug a hole in the
ground. We put a tent over it.

Tonight Show,
Freddie De Cordova
says, "Too long."

20 minutes to do
three minutes.

♪ Lucy in the sky
with diamonds ♪

I look over
and there's Johnny Carson
like, "What the f--"

End of Transformed Man.

"And you want me to go on?"
And he goes, "Well--"
"I'll do it!"

[ Laughs ] "I'll do it!
Don't let him get away!"

I think that's
really good, Scott.

So I got the job, Mr. Shatner?
Do I get to stay?
You get the job.

Excellent,
everybody.
Rock and roll.

[ Shatner ]
Rock and roll.

[ Shatner Narrating ]
Sixty years...

since I was first in New York
on Broadway.

Still trying to get some insight
into Suzie Wong.

Actually, the late '50s
and early '60s were
a very good time for me.

I had a lot of opportunities,
and I took advantage
of most of them,

including one that came
in the form of a telephone call.

I was in New York
and I got a call...

from a guy
named Roddenberry--

- [ Laughing ]
- who said,
"My name is Roddenberry.

We've shot a pilot
and it didn't sell,

but what they said was,
recast it and we'll
take another look."

[ Man ] Bill had a series
on television. It was,
I believe, shot in New York.

It ended,
and he became available
as Jeffrey Hunter was exiting,

and they snatched him up.

And that locked the deal.
They had a show.

Phasers, fire.
Point blank.

[ Woman ]
So I met Leonard and Bill
in the first reading...

around the table
with all of us sitting there.

It was something else.

I remember the first day
we saw the dailies
of the first shot we did.

I thought, "Wow.
This show is gonna be great."

[ D'Agosta ]
At the time, Bill was
on his way, basically,

to becoming a movie star,
I thought.

He appeared in...

really fine films.

He had a similar buildup
of a career as Robert Redford,

in that he did all the
prestigious television shows,

whether it was Twilight Zone,
or he was Judgment at Nuremberg
in a major part, as I recall.

And then this new,
gigantic role...

of Captain Kirk,
a total original.

He had to do
all of the creation on it.

There was no precedent.

How do you do this thing?

And what's the manner in which
you say these words?

And therefore,
the classical work
that all of us have done...

Yeah.
came to use.

'Cause he was theatrical.

And I think that
was his strength.

Risk.

Risk is our business.

That's what this starship
is all about.

That's why we're aboard her!

[ Shatner Narrating ]
Over half a century in show
business is really a long tim.

Shouldn't I have gotten
a watch from somebody by now?

Well, I did
finally win an Emmy.

Actually, more than one.

Took 'em long enough.

It's been an adventure,
that's for sure,

with plenty of
twists and turns...

and something everyone
finds out sooner or later
in this business--

success always comes
with a price.

I know that you have loved,
and I know that you have
loved deeply.

But vis-à-vis
your career,

has it been difficult
to love completely?

And has love suffered...

because of your career
needs and/or choices?

I got married
at a very early age.

My career hadn't even
really started.

I was a young actor
in Canada.

I got married and had children
almost right away.

Within a year, I had a baby.

I was... distraught...

over how am I
going to survive...

as an actor...

and then keep a roof
over my head-- our head--

and pay for all the things
babies need.

And this was in New York
in the live television days,

so I worked and I worked
and I worked.

I worked very hard.

Had another baby--
had another baby.
And the bills mounted up.

There was the need...

in my being...

for love, passion, lust.

I hadn't had much of that
as a young man.

When I got to be an actor
and people knew me,

I had more opportunities...

for the kind of girls
I would have loved to have had
when I was single.

So for a long time...

I... reached out...

for, uh, love
of all different kinds--

nurturing, uh, passion,
all those kinds of things.

Never found it
in one woman.

And--
But if I may interrupt you
for one second.

Are you suggesting
that suddenly,

due to your success,

there was a plethora
of beautiful women
available to you--

- Correct.
- that theretofore had not
been available to you?

- That's exactly right.
- And perhaps--

I don't want to put
words in your mouth.
Is it true or not true--

Because if I were a man
I think I-- You were
a kid in a candy store then.

Th's right.

These women would not have been
accessible to you had you been
a failure as an actor.

Mmm, one thinks not.

- [ Laughs ] Right, right.
So, is the ego just lambasted?
- Absolutely.

You're sort of dazzled,
right?
Yeah.

There I was,
a lonely kid in Montreal,

trying to survive as a kid,

and suddenly,
some years later,

I'm-- I'm in the public eye...

and women
are available to me,

and I'd never had that before.

And so I succumbed
to all that temptation.

The amount of time
that those series--

and I did several--
took...

destroyed each marriage...

for the lack of time
and attention to the marriage,

and also to the temptations
that were around.

The concept of being
with one woman...

and being uniquely theirs...

arrived...

with my wife Nerine.

I began to understand...

how love can be...

heightened and sharpened...

and in a sense blissful...

being with one lady...

and devoting
all your attention--

physical, spiritual,
emotional--

to that one lady.

Nerine died.

I was left with...

these almost 10 years of--

I had a beautiful thing
happen to me.

Now it's gone.

And then my luck--

this thing that I have
in life--

Yeah.

I met my wife
Elizabeth.
Yes.

And I've been...

completely true to her...

during the decade
we've been married.

But you have been...

a very hardworking
personality and actor
in this last decade.

Have you not?
Absolutely.

Would Elizabeth tell me
that she feels that
she gets enough of you?

No. We don't get
enough of each other.

We have so many things
we do together that we don't
get to do as much as we'd like,

but we get to do
quite a bit.

It is within
the realm of possibility...

to work hard,
completely and utterly,

and do the same thing
with love.

Yes.

But you know--
Who said it?

One's work
is an exacting mistress.

And that was well-answered
to your question
about love and work.

Next question.

Vacations
are always a good idea.

Save yourself...
some money.

Surfing
is my life now.

Shatner has become...
so able--

and he seems to
enjoy comedy.

And what he's done
between Boston Legal and
his activities with Priceline--

He has brought this level
of both sexuality and humor...

to his life and his work.

- Look, I'm here to help.
- He just played the roles...

that he seemed to be right for
for the longest time...

before people realized he could
stretch and do other things.

He's an actor.

The last series I did...

was, uh, Boston Legal,

which, uh, of course,

Bill had a small part
in that one too.

James Spader, who is--

Well, he's certainly
one of the finest actors
working today.

He has
a very particular way
of working.

Very, um-- Very precise.

As opposed to Bill,
who has been doing it
for so long.

He knows it's just film,

and he knows that
his life does not depend
on that particular scene.

The difference of
the way they worked would--

You know, at first blush
you would think,
"Uh-oh. This could--

Twenty shows down the line
this could get difficult."

And I was always
fascinated to watch--

They worked
so differently,

and yet with such respect
for each other's
way of working.

It was like
The Odd Couple.

It just was, you know,
that kind of chemical thing
that rarely happens,

and when it happens
it's like catching
lightning in a bottle.

Does she understand
that she's sideways?

[ Elizabeth ]
I'm fine, honey.

Liz, the image
is sideways.

No, it's not.
It's good.

No, it's not. It may
appear to be on this--

Well, then
it'll be artistic.

[ Chuckles ]
Right. Sideways.
[ Laughing ]

Now you're upside-down.
Why are you doing that?

I'm not upside-down!

Well, then you were upside-down
before, because you've now--
Honey, I'm fine.

Do you understand
what's she's doing? She's
screwing up the whole thing.

I'm doing this for nothing.
Why are you letting her
handle that?

[ Liz ]
'Cause she's in
the front seat!

Well, I'll turn sideways.

Liz had it upside-down,
then sideways.

Nobody wants to watch that.

That's crazy.
I'm not talking.

As long as she has the camera,
I'm not talking.
[ Elizabeth, Liz Laughing ]

[ Laughing ]
It's not that--

[ Laughing ]
I'm not talking.

You don't see me talking?
I'm not talking.

This is me not talking.
I am not talking.

So, you have enough
material to work with?

Well, I don't today.
I've got about
20 minutes worth.

We're good.
We're just--

But I wanted to see if I'm
heading down the right road.

Hell,
I don't know,
Bill.

Well, we're gonna make it
together, so if you get
the good vibe, I'm in.

[ Shatner Narrating ]
I've never let the fact
that I can't sing...

keep me from making music.

I'm now on my fourth--
Or is it my fifth album?

This time with
former Yes guitarist,

singer, songwriter and producr
Billy Sherwood.

♪♪ [ Speakers: Rock ]
I'll work on that
tonight.

♪ The wonder, the mystery ♪

♪♪ [ Continues ]
I see the beauty,
but I feel a part--

♪ See the beauty ♪

♪♪ [ Continues ]

What this needs
from the very beginning...

is the knife edge
of a guitar, uh--

Sure.
electric guitar
shaping everything.

♪♪ [ Continues ]
♪♪ [ Imitating Guitar Solo ]

Some of it's more somber.
Some of it's kinda jokey.
Yeah.

Some of it's serious.
Some of it's--
Yeah.

♪♪ [ Imitating
Guitar Solo ]

♪♪ [ Continues ]
"For those of us
who are wet with fear."

♪♪ [ Continues ]
My God, it just
works and works.

We'll keep that
orchestral thing kind of--
Right.

♪♪ [ Continues ]
Say the--

I would say that.

So that they're sung
and you're saying those words.

"A part of me
needs to be saved.

An act,
a tiny, weeny bit brave.
♪♪ [ Fades ]

I'm always
a little bit afraid,

but I haven't
said that to you...

because I'm
a little bit afraid to.

[ Both Laughing ]

We might come on
cold like that.
I like that.

I wrote this.

I filled this blank
piece of paper up--
I don't have to tell you.

It is a miracle to have
words that go somewhere
and to see it.

So you're digging?
I'm--
[ Sighs ]

Not only am I digging,
I'm kvelling.

[ Both Laughing ]
Nice! Kvelling!

Paramount Studios.
One of the first studios
in the moviemaking business.

1910, 1920.
The first movies were made here.

The Star Trek that I did,
The Next Generation-- All
the Star Treks were shot here.

This is Captain James T. Kirk
of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

I first got to know Chris
during the filming of
The Captains.

Liked him a lot.

This time I wanted to
find out a little more
about the new Captain Kirk...

and see what similarities
there might be...

between where I was
so many years ago
and where Chris is today.

Were you aware
that with the role...

comes a certain leadership
of the whole company,
sort of their looking at you?

Oh, man, I was so scared,
I didn't even think about that.

Well, it's
an interesting thing.

I-- What I really found
with the group that I was
involved with is that,

wonderfully, we were all
in a similar position
in our careers.

We're all young,
starting out.

Some success.
Not too much success.

So there was a camaraderie
and, I think, a parity, really,

just speaking of the actors,

that lent itself to...

what I feel like is
a distinguishable trait of the--

An ensemble.

Yeah. Of the piece--
that it really is
an ensemble.

[ Chuckles ]

Course heading, Captain?

Second star to the right.

And straight on
till morning.

What's your life like
now?

I'm trying to think back
when I was 30 and had kids...

and was struggling
to make a living and keep
a roof over their heads...

and food on the table.

When did you-- You had a family
by the time you were 30?

Well, I think I had
my first kid
by the time I was 27.

Wow.
Yeah.

I loved the family,

and I loved
surrounding myself
with the family.

At the same time,
when I look back I realize,
that's a big load.

It's an incredible
responsibility.

Three kids, finally.

So by the time you started
Star Trek, you had--

I had three kids by the time
we finished Star Trek.
Wow.

And-And was divorced.
Whoa.

What do you spend
on those movies?

I try to do as much work
as I can to do justice to
the character and the script.

Every project's different.
The toolbox you bring to it
is the same every time.

The tools that you use
will inevitably be different,

given the circumstance
and the project and the piece.

Are you involved
with anybody?

Is anybody--
Is there love in your life?
Sure.

In my life, I'm--

My first love, really,
is my work right now.

That's where I'm spending
my time and my energy.
But certainly, yeah.

But isn't your life then lonely
when you're not working?

I have great friends
and a really wonderful family.

What's nice about having
grown up in Los Angeles
is that, this is my home.

I've never had to
make it my home.

Did you go to
school here?
Yeah.

I went to a small
private school in the Valley...

from kindergarten through 12th.

- Then I went
to Berkeley up north.
- Did you? Did you graduate?

I did.
You went to McGill?

I went to a wonderful
university in Montreal.

Graduated with
a business administration--

Business administration?

Yeah, business.
And I got my--

- Did you know you were
gonna act even then?
- Yeah. I knew when I was six.

It's interesting how it happens.

For some people--
You knew from a very early age.

You talk to many actors,
and they know, and they talk
their dying passion for it.

Ironically enough,
having grown up around it,

one would expect that I--

it was a foregone conclusion
that I would end up in it.

But for me it seemed to
fit perfectly with
certain needs that I had--

intellectual needs and--

It's so ironic.

Most people,
myself included,

parents say,
"Oh, gee, don't do that."

Uh, my father's expression was,
"You'll be a hanger-on."

[ Laughs ]

You won't be a success.
You'll be a beggar, in effect.

That was my father's whole
thought about being an actor.

But on the contrary, your father
is saying,

"Great, son.
It's in the genes."

Well, I mean, I too also grew up
in an acting environment--

It's a blue-collar
acting household,

which is a completely
different, you know--

Everything is relative.

I grew up very comfortable,
and I went to a wonderful school
and I was very,

in the grand scheme
of things, pampered.

But I also did see
the peaks and the valleys,
and I saw the droughts,

and I saw the time when money
was made and money wasn't.

So I think my parents' concern
when I first started was more--

They wanted to make sure
that I was cognizant...

and very aware
and really understood...

the potential of
the life of the starving artist.

Do you recall the moment
when you thought,

I'm gonna give this a shot?

You know, again, everything
just kind of happened,

like building a--
[ Chuckles ] a house.

It was just, layer of brick,
layer, layer, layer.

And by the time I got to
my senior year in college,

with not a lot of other
interests besides acting--

and that was my main, um,
kind of extracurricular focus--

that I thought,
yeah, I'll give it a go.

I never had any sort of
arrogance about it,

but I just knew-- somehow
I just knew it would work out,

whether I ended up doing
regional theater in Vermont
or ended up on a TV show,

I just kinda figured
it would all work out.

[ Chattering ]

[ Shatner ]
So, I spent the day in bed,

except to rush out of bed
for a quick visit...

and then rush back.

And, um--
And that's been my--
my day.

So I'm vertical
for the first time today--

opening night.

And yet...

it's always been
my philosophy...

that there's nothing
you can't do...

if you
put your mind to it.

And if you feel
sick to your stomach...

and you still have to perform
in front of a Broadway opening,
you can do it.

It's just a matter
of will and focus.

So that's what I'm about.

I'm about knowing
that I can do it,

no matter how I feel.

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

You have
this extraordinary life...

which continues to open
like the most exotic flower.

- Doesn't it?
- It's unbelievable
what's happening to me now.

I have shows on the air,
things I've conceived of
that I'm doing that I--

- This is a perfect case
in point, isn't it?
- Perfect case.

- You make these things happen.
- Exactly.

[ Laughing ]
You want a jet?
You get a jet.

You want an actress?
You get an actress.
And everybody's with you!

Like, I'm overwhelmed that
you and Patrick, for example,
and Scott Bakula,

and Avery Brooks,
who talks to nobody--

Are talking to you.
Are talking to me.

I'm overwhelmed.
Yes.

Overwhelmed by the generosity.
It's a tribute
to you, William.

It's about
your personality.

It's about something
that's genuine,

that has not been affected
by every other kind of success
that you've experienced.

You know what you're doing?
You're laughing
in the face of death.

I am.
You are.
Let's dap.

That's exactly
what I'm doing.

I'm saying to life,
and therefore to death,

I'm still here
and I'm not extinguished yet.

Clever. Sharp.
Smart. Thoughtful.

Wise. And fun.

Yes, I admire him
for his passion...

about the job he does,
about his fearlessness,

about the way he seems to be
continually recreating himself.

The most extraordinary actor
in terms of a career.

It never stops.

It's project
after project after project.

The creation itself
is what keeps him going.

Because when he's done
with a project--

What's new?
What else can I do?

What else can I create
in my lifetime?

[ Transporr Sound ]
No, no, no, no, no!

I'm not beaming in. You said
I could make an entrance with
a rocket strapped to my ass.

[ Laughing, Cheering ]

Thank you.

[ Engine Starting ]

[ Shatner Narrating ]
Well, I hope you enjoyed...

a look at my first 82 years
in show business.

I know I have.

Y'all gotta get some sleep
before Mr. Shatner comes in
in the morning.

So y'all not gonna
rest at all.

He's gonna be on
the full tilt piece.

What you sayin'?

What are you
talkin' about?

I'll say it. Yeah,
yeah. Play this back
for him.

I know what I'm
talking about.
I've seen it.

Whoa. We're gonna--

Well, we need
to do this,
go over there.

We need to see.
Come-- Come here.

Work with me now.
[ Chuckles ]

Um, no, no.
Just move over here
for me.

You know, like this.
Yeah.

I'm not trying
to imitate him.

I'm talkin' about
what I see.

[ Chuckles ]
What?

Closed-Captioned by
Captions, Inc., Burbank, CA