George Takei spoke with Taffy Brodesser-Akner of The New York Times about his musical Allegiance based on his family’s time in an internment camp during World War II.
Apparently you can’t have a conversation with Takei without talking about William Shatner. Takei has written three books, has a web series, is an advocate same-sex marriage, and has taken control of social media at the age of 78; yet Takei is pulled back into the Shatner feud like a blackhole.
Takei comments on the tension between him and Shatner.
“It’s not tension, it’s all coming from Bill. Whenever he needs a little publicity for a project, he pumps up the so-called controversy between us, said Takei. Two months after my wedding, he went on YouTube and ranted and raved about our not sending him an invitation. We had. If he had an issue, he could have easily just phoned us before the wedding, simple as that. But he didn’t. And the reason he raised that fuss two months later is because he was premiering his new talk show, “Raw Nerve,”” said Takei.
Takei commented on the worst part of working with Shatner on Star Trek.
“It’s difficult working with someone who is not a team player. The rest of the cast all understand what makes a scene work — it’s everybody contributing to it. But Bill is a wonderful actor, and he knows it, and he likes to have the camera on him all the time,” said Takei.
Will Takei ever forgive Shatner?
“I don’t need to forgive him. I’ve already invited him to the opening night of “Allegiance,”” said Takei.
Allegiance will debut on Broadway in November.
