The ugly feud between William Shatner and George Takei: “It’s like a sickness”
At a time when sci-fi was still finding its identity, Star Trek came along and changed the landscape forever. Following other major landmarks like The Twilight Zone, Star Trek had an indelible impact on the frameworks of mainstream sci-fi, which is still evident today. While the actors of the original series, like William Shatner and George Takei, have fond memories of their contribution to television history, that’s not necessarily the case when it comes to their professional relationship.
On multiple occasions, Takei has opened up about his disagreements with Shatner and their difficulties on set. During a conversation, the actor claimed that Shatner was “not a team player” and that he always hogged the limelight. According to Takei, everyone else in the cast was focused on contributing to elevate the levels of the production, but Shatner used his acting talents to hog the limelight and draw attention to himself.
Even though decades have passed, Takei has not eased up on his criticisms of Shatner’s on-set behaviour. In a 2022 interview with The Guardian, he said there was camaraderie between all cast members “except for one, who was a prima donna…but the rest of us shared a great camaraderie. One of the gifts from Star Trek was not just longevity but colleagues that became lasting friends. My colleagues were part of my wedding party in 2008. Walter Koenig, who played Chekov, was my best man.”
In addition to calling him a “cantankerous old man”, Takei said that he refused to participate in the feud despite holding on to his resentment. Some of Shatner’s other Star Trek colleagues have also confirmed Takei’s accounts to various extents, but the Lt. Sulu actor has emerged as the most vocal critic who refused to let the feud die.
“I began to understand that they were doing it for publicity,” Shatner said in a 2022 interview with The Times. “Sixty years after some incident, they are still on that track. Don’t you think that’s a little weird? It’s like a sickness. George has never stopped blackening my name. These people are bitter and embittered. I have run out of patience with them. Why give credence to people consumed by envy and hate?”
Takei has also claimed that Shatner also uses the publicity attached to the feud in order to sell books, fuelling the vicious media cycle. In the years that have passed, the franchise has extended far beyond the original series and its on-set problems. Thankfully, most fans will remember the show’s unimaginably vast influence on popular culture more than anything else.
Watch Shatner talk about the feud below.
