William Shatner took his 90th trip around the sun last March, but that’s not stopping the Star Trek star.
He recorded albums and shot his History Channel show The UnXplained during the pandemic, swam with sharks in the Bahamas with adventurer Josh Gates in Discovery’s Expedition Unknown: Shark Trek, and just launched his new RT America series I Don’t Understand. The series has Shatner exploring myriad mysteries ranging from why people lie, to what to do about space junk polluting Earth’s orbit.
“‘Are you 90?!’ I get that all the time,” Shatner tells ABC Audio. “I used to get ‘Are you Captain Kirk?’ and now it’s ‘Are you 90?!’ No!, I’m Captain Kirk,” he says with a laugh.
You know, it’s weird, Shatner admits. “I’m dancing with sharks. I’m underwater with 50, 60 feet of sharks…and I’m in genuine peril. And I’m 90 years old! I don’t get it.”
“The 90-year-olds I know,” Shatner continues, “You can tell how old they are by the amount of dribble on their shirt. If it’s a clean shirt, you’re 50 years old and younger. One dribble every 10 years: if you have three dribbles, you’re 80 years old — and that‘s young according to my point of view. Gee whiz, man!”
The trouble with dribbles aside, Shatner’s excited about I Don’t Understand. “It is a show that reflects my natural curiosity about everything,” he explains. “The older I’ve gotten, I’ve tried to simplify: ‘What is all this?’…What is the kernel of truth behind all this razzmatazz involving language…behind all the masks? And isn’t it a joy…to share that moment of truth…in a simple conversation? And that’s what I’m after.”
I Don’t Understand is now streaming on various platforms and RT America’s website.
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