William Shatner was first cast as Captain James Tiberius Kirk for the second pilot of , entitled "Where No Man Has Gone Before". He subsequently was contracted to play Captain Kirk for the series and held the role from 1966 to 1969. In 1973, Shatner returned to the role of Captain Kirk, albeit only in voice, in the animated .

Shatner is notable for having participated in the first televised interracial kiss, with Nichelle Nichols, in the 1968 episode "Plato's Stepchildren". The scene provoked protest and was seen as groundbreaking, even though the kiss was portrayed as having been forced by mind control. The episode was not telecast in some Southern cities for fear of protest in those states; nevertheless, the majority of the feedback of the incident was positive. Shatner has claimed in memoirs that no one on the set felt the kiss to be very important until a network executive raised fears of a Southern boycott, and the kiss was almost written out of the . Gene Roddenberry supposedly made a deal, that the scene would be shot with the kiss, and with a cut-away shot which merely implied a kiss, and then a decision would be made on which to use. The footage of the actual kiss was eventually used. Some cast members have written that this was because Shatner deliberately ruined the take for the implied-kiss footage to force the real kiss being used.

For years Shatner was accused of being difficult to work with by some of his Star Trek co-stars, most notably George Takei and the late James Doohan, both of whom openly professed that they despised Shatner for being an arrogant, egotistical, line stealing showboater who tried to keep his co-stars in the background. In the 2004 Star Trek DVD sets Takei seemed to have buried the hatchet with Shatner, but the gulf between Shatner and Doohan was never filled. In the 1990s Shatner made numerous attempts to patch things up with Doohan, but never succeeded.

Between 1979 and 1991, William Shatner played Captain Kirk in the six (his character's final appearance).

In the summer of 2004, rumors circulated that the producers of fold. Reports in the media indicated that the idea was given serious thought, with series producer Manny Coto indicating in magazine's October, 2004, issue that he was preparing a three-episode story arc for Shatner. Shortly thereafter, film, which he believes was due to his being typecast as Captain Kirk, making it difficult to find other work. Moreover, his wife Gloria Rand left him and the Canadian actor, unfamiliar with California divorce laws, was all but wiped out financially. With very little money and acting prospects now, he lived in a truck bed camper in the San Fernando Valley until acting bit-parts turned into higher paying roles. Shatner refers to that period in his life as "That Period" as it was a humbling one, as he would take any odd job, including small party appearances, to support his family. In 1970, Shatner appeared as the prosecutor in a PBS television film of the Broadway play was directed by George C. Scott and received excellent reviews. He also took roles in made-for-TV productions, such as in 1979, under pressure from loyal fans of the series. Its success re-established Shatner as an actor, and Captain Kirk as a cultural icon.

While continuing to film the successful series of series from 1982 to 1986; this show became a popular hit. He then hosted the popular dramatic reenactment series

As the unwilling central public figure of a widespread geek-culture of Trekkies, Shatner is often humorously critical of the sometimes "annoying" fans of . He also has found an outlet in spoofing the cavalier, almost superhuman character persona of Captain Kirk, in films such as fans to "Get a life," repeating a popular catch-phrase. Shatner also appeared in the film Free Enterprise in 1998, in which he played himself and tried to dispel the Kirk image of himself from the view of the film's two lead characters.

Shatner has enjoyed success with a series of . This popular series of books led to a Marvel Comics series, to a number of television movies, in which Shatner played a role, and to a short-lived television series. In 1995, a first-person shooter game named was released, and was the first game to use the Build engine.

In the 1990s, Shatner appeared in several plays on American National Public Radio, written and directed by Norman Corwin.

Shatner has appeared in several episodes of the television series as The Big Giant Head, a womanizing, substance-abusing, high ranking officer from the same alien planet as the show's protagonists. He was nominated for an Emmy for this role.

In 2004, Shatner was cast as the eccentric but highly capable attorney Denny Crane for the final season of the legal drama , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy in 2005. With the 2005 Emmy win, Shatner became one of the few actors (along with co-star James Spader as Alan Shore) to win an Emmy award while playing the same character in two different series. (Even more rare, Shatner and Spader each won a second consecutive Emmy while playing the same character in two different series).

In late 2004, Shatner reserved a $200,000 seat to fly aboard Virgin Galactic's , and is expected to become a full-fledged astronaut when he flies into suborbital space in 2008, along with other paying passengers.

In 2006 Shatner sold his kidney stone for $25,000 to GoldenPalace.com. The money will go to a housing charity [1]

Shatner also plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games. He plays for the Wells Fargo Hollywood Charity Horse Show.

Shatner has three daughters, Leslie, Lisabeth and Melanie. Melanie is the proprietor of Dari, an upscale women's clothing boutique. She currently lives in Southern California.

In his spare time, Shatner enjoys breeding and showing American Saddlebreds and Quarter Horses. Shatner has a 360-acre (1.5 km²) horse farm in Kentucky named Bellreve, where he raises the winning horses.

Shatner is also the CEO of the Toronto, Ontario-based C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures company, which provided the special effects for the 1996 film , was released in 2004. Ben Folds acted as producer. Collaborating artists included Aimee Mann, Henry Rollins, Brad Paisley and Joe Jackson. features the single "Common People", a cover version of the song by Pulp.

He appears on the piece ' character was originally named "James R. Kirk", although some fans have suggested an alternate explanation: That his best friend, Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood), simply erred when he created a tombstone for Kirk in the episode . (The "R." would later be explained in a non-canon novel as an old joke between Mitchell and Kirk.) The middle name "Tiberius" (derived from the name of the Roman Emperor) was established in The Student Society Building at Montreal's McGill University was unofficially named after William Shatner after a student referendum, and contains a ceiling mounted sign in the lobby bearing his name. The University administrators have never officially accepted this name.Like many Anglophones born in the largely French-speaking province of Québec, Shatner speaks French.Shatner has been a commander in Celebrity Paintball's scenario games to raise money for his favorite charity, handicapped children.Fans of the horror movie Halloween might know that Michael Myers wears a William Shatner mask that is painted white. cast member at age 74, four days older than Leonard Nimoy (Nichelle Nichols was 72, George Takei 68, and Walter Koenig 68).During separate appearances on the Howard Stern Show, Takei and Doohan both admitted to despising Shatner (on the January 10, 2006 Stern show, Takei referred to Shatner as a "prima donna").Shatner has also made about ten appearances on the Howard Stern Show, including a visit to the fictional "homo room" with Howard. Shatner consistently was a good sport during these appearances., the bald bailiff Bull wins a a free toupee, and selects the super-advanced "Shatner 2000" model, which causes the wearer to immediately become popular with women.In the satirical TV series Brass Eye, the fictional drug 'Cake' is said to affect an area of the brain known as Shatner's Bassoon. was conceived as a mixture of both Shatner and Kirk, with Brannigan frequently exhibiting character traits associated with both. Ironically, Shatner himself - along with most of the rest of the surviving William Shatner; Taggart has a reputation for losing his shirt at the flimsiest excuse, rolling on the ground during combat, and making pithy speeches at the drop of a hat, while Nesmith is an egomaniac who regards himself as the core of In a Super Bowl XL sketch shown before the game, Shatner and James Spader star as their Boston Legal characters as they try to play football in an apartment. Shatner throws the football into the street which causes an off-screen colision. Shatner then throws his business cards toward the colision in case they want a lawyer, which the show is based on.

"I'm not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don't live on Starship NCC-170... (some audience members say "1"), or own a phaser. I don't know any named Bones, Sulu, or Spock (picture of Dr. Benjamin Spock is shown on screen behind him). And no, I've never had green alien sex, but I'm sure it'd be quite an evening. ( begins playing.) I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt's, not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me 'live long and prosper', I seriously mean it when I say, 'get a life'. My doctor's name is not McCoy, it's Ginsberg (nude picture of Dr. Ginsberg shown on screen). And tribbles were ! And when I speak, I never, ever talk like Every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence. I live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And I believe in priceline.com, where you never have to pay full price for airline tickets, hotels, and car rentals! I've appeared onstage at Stratford, at Carnegie Hall, Albert Hall, and the Monkland Theatre in NDG. And, yes, I've gone where no man has gone before, but... I was in Mexico and her father gave me permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!"