On-set conflicts can happen, even for a major franchise, in which actors must work together for long periods across multiple projects. In an interview with The Guardian, George Takei talked about how he got along with everyone except for the feud with “prima donna” William Shatner during their tenure on Star Trek.
Across movies and the original 1966 series, George Takei and William Shatner have decades-worth of experience on Star Trek, with much of it involving the two working together. When asked about his relationship with the original cast, the 85-year-old known for his role as Sulu said that his co-star was the one person he did not like, nor did anyone else get along with him. To him, the actor known for playing Kirk was a “prima donna” who “enjoyed being the center of attention.”
The feud on Star Trek between George Takei and William Shatner
While the conflict started decades ago, the sparks have been ignited once again. George Takei had taken a jab at William Shatner after his Star Trek co-star regarding his space flight on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin in 2021. He fired back, as he told The Times U.K. that the being called out for it was for “publicity” after all those years of working on the sci-fi franchise.
While The Guardian interview did go into a response toward what was said to The Times U.K., the 85-year-old actor known for his filmography and activism tries not to mention his co-star by name or get too involved to not “play his game,” although he does acknowledge that he does mention the “cantankerous old man” by name in said interview.
“I know he came to London to promote his book and talked about me wanting publicity. So I decided I don’t need his name to get publicity. I have much more substantial subject matter that I want to get publicity for, so I’m not going to refer to Bill in this interview at all.”
George Takei has kept himself busy with Star Trek cameos and new projects, like the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender and the upcoming animated series Blue Eye Samurai.