William Shatner says he hopes Star Trek reboot’s Chris Pine would play him in a biopic as he’s ‘a good looking’ and ‘talented guy’
- Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk on the famed TV series from 1966-1969
- Pine played the role in three of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek films
- Veteran actor asked, ‘Why doesn’t he play me?’
William Shatner said he’d cast Chris Pine to play him in a biopic.
The 89-year-old actor was asked who he would pick to play him in a film about his life and career and chose Pine, the 39-year-old actor who has played the role of Captain James T. Kirk in three of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek films set in the show’s Kelvin timeline.
‘I don’t know. [Chris] Pine?’ the Montreal native told the fan site Trek Report in a remote appearance for GalaxyCon. ‘Why doesn’t he play me? A good looking, talented guy.’
The latest: William Shatner, 89, was asked who he would pick to play him in a film about his life and career and chose Chris Pine, the 39-year-old actor who has played the role of Captain James T. Kirk in three of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek films set in the show’s Kelvin timeline
He initially said, ‘I want to play myself – I don’t wanna die!’
The Star Trek actor, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the famed TV series from 1966-1969, chat with moderator Patty Hawkins in the segment, where he fielded questions from fans for an hour.
Shatner also discussed the prospects of redoing portions of 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which he directed but did not get to complete the way he wanted to amid a lack of funding.
‘It certainly could use an ending,’ Shatner said. ‘That might be interesting to do. But, not to refurbish the whole film.’
Iconic: The Star Trek actor (pictured with Nichelle Nichols and the late Leonard Nimoy) played Captain James T. Kirk on the famed TV series from 1966-1969
Reboot: Zachary Quinto (L) and Pine revived the roles for director J.J. Abrams
In the chat, Shatner said he was waiting for the pandemic to conclude so he could visit with his family and return to work on assorted projects he had prior to the shutdown.
In early March, he told the site Metro UK that he would only play Captain Kirk if the material ‘made reasonable sense’
‘I wouldn’t do a series. If the role was written properly and it wasn’t a cameo or gratuitous; being there just to show my face, I wouldn’t do that,’ he said.