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William Shatner hasn’t earned a penny from the reruns of the original « Star Trek. »
« Nobody knew about reruns, » he revealed in a new interview with The Telegraph. « The concept of syndication only came in after ‘Star Trek’ was canceled when someone from the unions said: ‘Wait a minute, you’re replaying all those films, those shows.’ »
« There was a big strike. But in the end, the unions secured residual fees shortly after ‘Star Trek’ finished, so I didn’t benefit. »
WILLIAM SHATNER DOESN’T WATCH ‘STAR TREK,’ SAYS HE’S SEEN ‘AS FEW AS POSSIBLE’
William Shatner said he doesn’t earn anything from reruns of the original « Star Trek » series. (CBS via Getty Images)
Shatner portrayed Capt. James T. Kirk in the original « Star Trek » TV series from 1966 to 1969 and reprised the role in various films. Despite the massive fan base and continued success of the original show through reruns, Shatner hasn’t earned a dime in residuals.
Shatner has been outspoken about the issue before, explaining to a fan online why he never received residuals from the hit series.
« Anything before 1973 (that includes Star Trek Original Series) doesn’t pay a cent in Royalties, » he wrote on X in 2020. « So please don’t think you own me or I owe you something for watching. It doesn’t work like that. »
The original « Star Trek » series ran from 1966 to 1969. (CBS via Getty Images)
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« Star Trek » starred William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley and George Takei. (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
While « Star Trek » has remained immensely popular throughout the years, Shatner himself isn’t a die-hard fan. The now 94-year-old actor revealed he’s actually only seen a « few » episodes of his work and has « never seen » any of the spin-offs.
« I’m gonna tell you something that nobody knows. I’ve never seen another ‘Star Trek’ and I’ve seen as few ‘Star Treks’ of the show I was on, I’ve seen as few as possible, » he told Entertainment Tonight. « I don’t like to look at myself, and I’ve never seen any other. I love it, I think it’s great. I just don’t, you know, I don’t watch television, per se. »
« I’m watching documentaries, I’m watching the news, I’m watching sports, I’m watching things that were, documentaries that were made, but I don’t watch television for some reason, » he added. « I’ve been urged to watch certain shows by my family, ‘You’ll love this,’ and I just never get around to it. »
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William Shatner revealed he’s never watched any « Star Trek » spin-offs. (Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images))
Shatner once said he’d consider reprising his role as Captain Kirk, but don’t hold your breath.
« It’s almost impossible, but it was a great role and so well written and if there were a reason to be there, not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it, » he told The Canadian Press in May 2024.
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Fox News Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.
