Famed Canadian actor William Shatner recalls co-star hijinks in discussion with fans

Actor William Shatner, known for his role as Captain Kirk in "Star Trek," signs autographs at the Calgary Expo Comics and Entertainment show in Calgary on Friday, April 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol

CALGARY — William Shatner, quickly gliding over questions that speculated about the future of “Star Trek” and his famous role as its captain, reminisced with a ballroom of fans about stories ranging from sabotaging co-star Leonard Nimoy’s bike to rubbing former football player Terry Bradshaw’s head with fermented fish.

Shatner is well-known for spending nearly three decades wearing a Starfleet uniform at the helm of the starship Enterprise as Captain James Kirk as part of his long career.

The 95-year-old wandered between stories about the mayhem on set, including on the 2016 reality television show “Better Late Than Never,” which followed Shatner along with four other celebrities as they travelled to different countries.

He spoke at the BMO Centre during the Calgary Expo on Saturday afternoon, comfortably addressing hundreds from his seat atop the sprawling stage. Sometimes he received help from the audience in remembering some details, like the capital city of Sweden.

“I was told by a policeman in Stockholm that dead people, after two weeks, smells like fermented fish,” Shatner said.

He spoke about being sat with his “Better Late Than Never” co-stars around a distended can of fermented fish. Someone (he can’t remember who) opened it, catalyzing a rancid explosion.

One cameraman turned away to “projectile vomit.” Shatner took the opportunity to one-up his co-star Terry Bradshaw in a friendly competition they’d been having.

Shatner said he chased down the four-time Superbowl champion quarterback with a piece of fermented fish in his hand.

“He made an abrupt left-hand turn, thinking he was still a football player, but he came out of his shoes and fell to the ground,” Shatner said.

“I jumped on him and wiped his bald pate with a fermented fish.”

Later, Shatner spoke about co-star Nimoy -- famous for his role as the titular “Star Trek” character Spock.

“Had he been a girl, I would have married him,” Shatner said.

While filming one of “Star Trek’s” many productions, though Shatner was unsure which, the two started an unlikely competition of getting to the commissary quicker.

Shatner said Nimoy would often arrive last and, therefore, wouldn’t eat. So, Nimoy bought a bike, outpacing Shatner’s running speed.

“So the next day I brought chains and a padlock,” Shatner said. When Nimoy arrived with bolt cutters the following day, Shatner hid the bike in his dressing room, guarded by his two Dobermans.

“And the following day, I put my arm around his shoulders and I walked him onto the set and I said ‘Leonard, turn your eyes to the sky.’”

“And he looked up there under the spotlight and the roof was his bike.”

Shatner’s string of stories were largely driven by a question about his most “unexpectedly chaotic moment” from Haley Rushton, a Nova Scotian in the crowd who’d had seeing Shatner in person on her bucket list.

She felt somewhat bad, she said in an interview, that her one question drove the majority of Shatner’s tales on stage, leaving a lineup of fans with unanswered queries.

Still, “we feel like we’ve got our (fill) already and we only got here this morning. So now I can die happy,” she said outside the centre’s Champions Ballroom.

Her longtime friend and Expo partner who shares a matching space tattoo, Zach Whitney, wore a Starfleet uniform and considers himself a “pretty die-hard” “Star Trek” fan.

“It’s nice to hear the human sides because he’s really funny, like, he’s so charismatic,” said Whitney, from Vancouver, B.C.

Jeff Scheers, from Edmonton, Alta., said he missed Shatner’s discussion, but often sees the star at conventions.

“‘Star Trek’ started in 1966 on TV and I was like seven years old, and every day after school would be ‘Star Trek.’ Of course, my family didn’t appreciate it but I certainly did,” Scheers said, recalling the 19-inch television airing the show in black-and-white.

He’s passed that passion for the show onto his kids, bringing a new meaning to “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

“Captain Kirk is one of the heroes,” Scheers said.

“He always thought twice about everything he did. And he asked for opinions, and that’s the way I’ve lived my life,” he added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2026.

Dayne Patterson, The Canadian Press