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William Shatner is best known for his role as the Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk inStar Trek. Starring in the original series with Leonard Nimoy, Shatner became a pop culture icon for his performance as the charismatic and casanova captain. He went on to reprise the role in six more films and is forever associated withStar Trek.
However, his first Emmy nomination came not for the sci-fi series he is best known for. He received his first nomination for his guest role in John Lithgow’s sci-fi comedy3rd Rock from the Sunwhere he played the human form of the alien named Big Giant Head. Despite its legacy, Shatner revealed that he regretted the role to this day.
William Shatner regretted playing his legendary role in a sci-fi series that was notStar Trek
William Shatnerwas the epitome of leadership when he played Captain Kirk inStar Trek. The actor has since been irreplaceable in pop culture history and stands at the top in a legacy of Starfleet captains in the franchise, bested probably only by his successor Patrick Stewart inThe Next Generation.
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However, Shatner also went on to play more iconic roles on TV. He played the eponymous cop inT.J. Hookerand had aleading role inBoston LegalandThe Practice. Despite his long line of work, his first Emmy nomination came for not a lead part but for a guest role in the sci-fi comedy starring John Lithgow,3rd Rock from the Sun.
Playing the King of the Universe got Shatner an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. However, the actor reportedly was not too fond of the role. He told theArchive of American Television,
I don’t know why they thought of me as the great giant head…I don’t know why they got me involved and I’ve regretted it to this day.
However, the actor seemed to have a great deal of respect for his co-star John Lithgow and called him one of the greatest ‘Farcers’ of the time, despite having great chops for dramatic acting as well.
John Lithgow and William Shatner pranked everyone on the sets of3rd Rock from the Sun
While William Shatner expressed his regret at playing the role of the Big Giant Head on3rd Rock from the Sun, the actor reportedly did have a lot of fun on the sets of the show.John Lithgow, who was the lead actor in the series, was reportedly a huge prankster on set, and even pranked co-stars like Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
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The first time Shatner was supposed to show up on set was reportedly April 1st and Lithgow planned a prank where the two pretended like they did not get along and scared the entire production crew. Lithgow recounted the day onThe Kelly Clarkson Show,
At the big network run-through where we presented the show that we were going to do in front of a live audience, it exploded into this huge fight between Shatner and me…’This is not Star Trek! This is Third Rock’…[We went] off to our dressing rooms [saying] ‘I’m not coming back until that man apologizes’…You should have seen the NBC executives…Then of course we came out with an April Fool’s cake.
Lithgow then joked that it was the best acting Shatner had ever done in his life.
3rd Rock from the Sunis available to stream on Hoopla.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2415
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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John LithgowWilliam Shatner
