William Shatner
Best known for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in The Original Series, William Shatner (March 22, 1931 - present) was first trained as a classical Shakespearean actor. In 1954, Shatner began performing at the Shakespearean Stratford
Festival of Canada in Stratford, Ontario. At one point during this time, Shatner was the understudy for Christopher Plummer in Henry V. The two would later star together in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In this interview from the documentary Why Shakespeare?, Shatner talks about identifying with Shakespeare and the universality of the plays: |
In addition, Shatner's album The Transformed Man includes several tracks that combine works of Shakespeare with popular songs, including one called "Hamlet/It Was a Very Good Year," which you can hear him perform on The Mike Douglas Show in this video: