William Shatner turns 92 later this month but is not your average 92-year-old. His documentary “You Can Call Me Bill” is having its world premiere at the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW). In the documentary, Shatner reflects on his career, what he plans on doing next, and his impending mortality.
In an interview with Dateline, Shatner said he couldn’t believe the age “91” applied to him. “Every time I hear that figure, I think, ‘That’s right. That’s me. My God, I think, how is that possible?”
His following plans involve a children’s book and album, where he also detailed a song about the relationship between elephants and termites in the wild.
The documentary is full of homages to Shatner’s illustrious career, including Star Trek, T.J. Hooker, and even how his face became the iconic mask of Michael Myers in the Halloween franchise.
However, one of the big stories is how Shatner became the oldest person to travel to space at 90 in 2021 by boarding Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origins rocket. In his interview, he told Deadline, “I didn’t understand the depth of my feelings until I came down [to Earth], got on land, and there I was crying — I’m on national television, and I’m uncontrollably crying. I couldn’t figure out why until hours later. And it took me a few days to conclude, make all my observations about how complex my reaction was.”
At SXSW, Shatner will present his documentary and participate in a keynote conversation alongside Chris Pine and Tim League, founder of the Alamo Drafthouse.