William Shatner has admitted that the process of creating his new biographical project was “awkward”.
The actor, best known for playing Admiral James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, has opened up about his upcoming documentary, You Can Call Me Bill.
In a new interview with People, the 92-year-old confessed that making the film, which delves into his seven-decade-long career, was “a little awkward”.
“It’s a documentary about me, and I’m expected to help sell it by going out and talking about me, and I don’t like to talk about me,” Shatner told the outlet. “So you can see the fun and the energy that would be expended on trying not to talk about me about a film that is all about me.”
The Canadian actor added that he decided to be more open in the documentary than he had been in the past.
“When you’re talking to the press, you can be a little devious on how you feel and what you’re doing and what you think and ‘Oh, yes, I love that person,’ or ‘I made a mistake,'” Shatner explained. “But in doing a serious film that in the end, my children and my children’s children watch, I didn’t want to be facetious or marginal about any of the answers.”
“I gave what I hoped was the way I truly felt and the masks come off,” he continued. “So there I am somewhat naked – a mixed metaphor, if you will. And so the film is more the truth and more about me than I can manage, or as much as I can manage, but it’s a little awkward. It’s like getting undressed.”
You Can Call Me Bill, directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, is set to premiere on 22 March.