William Shatner celebrated his 90th birthday on Monday, and the beloved Star Trek actor shows no signs of slowing down.
The Canadian recently spoke with The New York Post about his new movie, Senior Moment, which is set to drop in cinemas this Friday in the US.
In the film, Shatner plays Victor, a Palm Springs hotshot “who defiantly refuses to show his age”. He co-stars with Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd and American actress Jean Smart, who is 21 years his junior.
“She’s beautiful,” he told the publication of Smart. “Here’s this beautiful woman who’s talented and a great joy! We just had the best time together. I love her.”
The actor, who has dabbled in the music industry during his fruitful career, also opened up about his upcoming album, which he says is quite “autobiographical”, as each song refers back to an incident in his own life. One song makes reference to a road trip through Canada, in which a truck nearly hit his small car on a bridge. He ended up calling the song ‘The Bridge’.
“In life, we’re always going across a bridge, and there’s always an 18-wheeler coming at us, and there is a way of surviving,” he said philosophically.
Shatner, who has Captain James Tiberius Kirk to thank for his success, received a slew of nice messages from fans for his birthday, much to his surprise.
In response, Shatner jokingly wrote on Twitter, “Well! I must say that the reaction to a 90th birthday is overwhelming. Don’t you people have better things to do? Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and love! I just turned 90 … What happens when I get to 120?”
Twitter user @doomcock commented, “Happy 90th Birthday to the man, the legend, @WilliamShatner! Captain Kirk has been, and always will be, my hero. Thank you for all the years of inspiration and joy Bill!” And @YellowFlashGuy added: “Happy Birthday to the best captain!” And @Anthony06680565 tweeted, “Happy birthday Bill. Have a great day and stay safe.”
Happy birthday Bill. Have a great day and stay safe. ???? pic.twitter.com/UCRm6Zve52
— Anthony Anderson???????? (@Anthony06680565) March 23, 2021
While Shatner may be best known from his Star Trek days, he was also a favourite in the 1980s drama series T.J Hooker, in which he played the leading role of Sergeant Thomas Jefferson. He also appeared in a number of popular movies, such as Free Enterprise and Miss Congeniality.
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