William Shatner: Stories Of Star Trek's Captain Kirk's Real-Life And His Impact

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William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in the STAR TREK episode, "The Apple." Original airdate, October 13, 1967, season 2, episode 5. Image is a screen grab. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

As Captain Kirk on Star Trek, William Shatner carved out a place in TV sci-fi history. A brooding, brawling lothario, Kirk was the id of the otherwise cerebral crew of the Starship Enterprise. Though Kirk is William Shatner's career-defining role (with Denny Crane of Boston Legal and cop TJ Hooker in second and third place), Kirk isn't Shatner. Or is he? Off screen, William Shatner has a reputation as a moody egomaniac, and he's the Star Trek actor whom seemingly no one else in the cast gets along with. Maybe Kirk and Shatner aren't so different after all.