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William Shatner lived up to his infamous reputation as a “self-centered” “douche” — that according to former co-star George Takei — when he met actor Wil Wheaton on the set of “Star Trek V.”
At the time, Wheaton was 16 and playing Wesley Crusher on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” when he found out that the original “Star Trek” cast would be working next door.
Wheaton, who co-starred in “Stand by Me” opposite River Phoenix and Corey Feldman as a kid, took weeks to drum up the nerve to introduce himself. Finally, he saw Shatner surrounded by crew members and decided it was time. Wearing his gray “acting ensign” spacesuit, Wheaton walked over to the legendary curmudgeon famous for playing Capt. James T. Kirk
“It took about eight steps for my confidence to evaporate,” Wheaton, now 49, writes in his upcoming book, “Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir,” out April 12.
“‘So you’re the kid on that show?’” Shatner asked.
“He seemed annoyed,” Wheaton writes. “My throat and mouth were dry, and my palms were sweating. My heart pounded in my ears, as I answered, ‘Uh, yes sir. My name’s Wil.’”
The teen, put out his hand for Shatner to shake — which he ignored.
Shatner then proceeded to mock Wheaton’s costume.
“‘What is that, your spacesuit?’ he said, and made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a cough,” Wheaton writes.
Wheaton says that he actually felt light-headed and didn’t hear Shatner when he asked him a question.
“‘I said, What do you do over there?’ he asked,” Wheaton recalls. “There was a challenge in his voice.”
When the teen explained he was an acting ensign who sometimes pilots the ship, Shatner said dismissively, “Well, I’d never let a kid come onto my bridge.’”
Word quickly went around the set that Shatner had been rude, and members of the crew and cast came to comfort — and commiserate with — Wheaton.
Brent Spiner, who played Data on “Next Generation,” told the teen that Shatner was bald and wears a toupee. Michael Dorn, who played Klingon Worf, jokingly offered to kick Shatner’s ass, and Jonathan Frakes (Capt. William Riker) said: “To hell with him.”
As Wheaton was going back to his trailer, he was summoned into Gene Roddenberry’s office. The “Star Trek” creator had already heard about the unpleasant meeting.
“Wil, Bill Shatner is an ass, don’t you worry about him, okay?” Rodenberry said. “I am so proud to have you on my show. Don’t you ever forget that.”
The next day at work there was an envelope sitting on Wheaton’s dressing room table addressed “To Master Wil Wheaton” “From the Office of William Shatner.”
Inside there was a typed message: “Dear Wil, You are a fine young actor, and I would be honored to have you on my bridge any day. Sincerely yours, Bill.” The signature was signed in ink.
The next minute, Wheaton’s phone rang with Roddenberry on the line.
“‘I spoke with Bill Shatner yesterday, and he should be dropping a note off for you today,” Roddenberry said.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Wheaton writes. “Gene Roddenberry, the Great Bird of the Galaxy and creator of ‘Star Trek,’ had called WILLIAM F–KING SHATNER, Captain James T. Kirk and director of ‘Star Trek V,’ and asked him to apologize to me, Wil Wheaton, 16-year-old acting ensign and drooling fanboy.
“Of all the wonderful gifts Gene gave me across the years, that is one of the most fondly remembered, because I know that without Gene’s intervention that note would never have been written.”
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