George Takei Talks Up The Camaraderie Among The Original ‘Star Trek’ Cast… With One Exception – TrekMovie.com

Original Star Trek actor George Takei is in London rehearsing for his West End debut in his autobiographical play Allegiance. As he has been doing publicity for the play, he inevitably is getting Star Trek questions, including some about William Shatner’s recent comments about Takei from his UK press tour for his new book.

Takei has great things to say about his TOS co-stars (except for one)

Speaking to the UK Guardian, Takei talked up the on-set friendships he built during the production of Star Trek: The Original Series:

“Yes. Yes. YES [there was camaraderie on set of Star Trek]. Except for one, who was a prima donna. But the rest of us shared a great camaraderie. One of the gifts from Star Trek was not just longevity but colleagues that became lasting friends. My colleagues were part of my wedding party in 2008. Walter Koenig, who played Chekov, was my best man. We asked Nichelle [Nichols] to be our matron of honour but she said: ‘I am not a matron! If Walter can be the best man, why can’t I be the best lady?’ So she became the best lady.

In the same interview, he had more stories about his castmates including “loyal friend” Leonard Nimoy and “favorite drinking buddy” James Doohan. However, he claimed that “none” of the cast got along with William Shatner, adding, “He was self-involved. He enjoyed being the center of attention. He wanted everyone to kowtow to him.”

Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, DeForest Kelly and James Doohan at the unveiling of the Space Shuttle Enterprise in 1976 (AP)

The interview was to promote the play, but the ongoing feud, including Shatner’s recent comments about Takei, were addressed. From the Guardian:

Takei is reluctant to talk about Shatner. “I know he came to London to promote his book and talked about me wanting publicity by using his name. 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.” He grins. “Although I just did. He’s just a cantankerous old man and I’m going to leave him to his devices. I’m not going to play his game.”

Takei’s Allegiance runs from January 7 to April 8 at the Charing Cross Theatre in London.

George Takei in Allegiance

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