'Star Trek' legend William Shatner spills tea with WRAL Out & About ahead of appearance at GalaxyCon in Raleigh

The event, from Thursday through Sunday at the Raleigh Convention Center, will feature celebrities, creators, voice actors, cosplayers, entertainers, fan groups, gamers and panelists across the genres of movies, comics, television and more.

“Star Trek” actor and astronaut William Shatner is sure to draw a crowd.

The 91-year-old actor has appeared in TV shows and movies for seven decades. He’ll participate in a live Q&A on the main stage, pose for professional photo ops and sign autographs with fans.

Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk on “Star Trek: The Original Series” in the 1960s, caught up with WRAL Out & About to discuss his recent endeavors and this weekend’s festivities.

Shatner: In Latin. I understand Latin very well. Ask me in Latin.

Shatner: I will, and I'll be looking forward to it, and I hope your audience will look forward to it too. I’ll be there all day [on] Sunday.

Shatner: No, of course not. [Not] anymore than you know that you are going to be head of the news department next year.

Shatner: Well, when I first started, the first convention I went to had 15,000 people in it. So, in a way, there won't be that many people at Raleigh. On the other hand, the San Diego Comic-Con has … had 150,000 people, so you can see how the numbers vary.

And, it has become an important position, if you will, for movies starting out and people wanting to make sure the audience knew what they were doing.

Shatner: I imagine if you asked somebody else, they’d say, ‘Yeah, we’re always seeing Shatner there,’ but I go to several because I’m doing a lot of stuff: Books and albums and NFTs and even a watch. So, I’m busy, as part of my job, doing it as well as making sure people know about it.

Shatner: I suppose my meeting the guy on the wing, who turns out to be a Czechoslovakian acrobat. I was going to say apricot because his costume was fuzzy.

It (“The Twilight Zone”) was antithetical to anything streamlined, so him on the wing of a 707 seemed comical at the time, and continues to seem comical except that in storytelling, if you’ve got a good story, anything is possible.

Shatner: Yeah.

Shatner: Well, I've heard, chief among them was Marlon Brando saying that, ‘It's child's play,’ that acting is child's play.

I see it as an exploration of psychology. I think that, you as an interviewer, listening to what the people say and the way they say it: The nuances of hello tells you a great deal about how they are and what they're doing. And so, that nuance is what I try to invest [in] the people I play, and [it’s a] continuous exploration.

I find it fascinating. I find acting and everything fascinating.

Shatner: Well, I [have] a book coming out called “Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder” in October.

I’ve got a watch that I've designed with Webb Telescope and NASA coming out.

New Webb Telescope Images Give A Close-Up Look At ‘phantom Galaxy’

Shatner: Well, I will. It starts with blockchain and it starts with the whole electronic thing …

So, I was involved fairly early in the whole blockchain idea, and I even went to Mexico with a friend who really knows what he is talking about to look at all that.

So, I dimly understand it, but the NFT is almost inexplicable. It's an electronic image, which is unique to you. It has that uniqueness, [there will] only be 2,500 of the ones I'm doing. And, after that, there's no more. You will have in your phone wallet an image that is entirely yours and an object of mine that is unique to you.

And, it's just a, a unique gift that you pay for from me to you.

Shatner: Well, this isn't going to be an auction. Yes, there are auctions and people bid on them … I guess, electronically.

This will have a set price in which you will buy the doll and alongside this unique 2,500 of them will be, if I could use the word unique to itself, there'll only be that number and along with that, there will be this electronic image that will be accompanying this figure.

The concept [is] a little bit difficult to take right away, but it is a unique element that is imprinted on it.

Shatner: That’s alright. I'm delighted talking to you and, and making sure your audience will come on Sunday to visit with me.

Shatner (singing): If you’re blue and you don't know where to go to, why don't you go where fashion sits? Puttin’ on the Ritz.

(Speaking) Now, I had to learn to do that. Ok? If I had a drink, I wouldn't be able to say that: If you're blue and you don't know what to, ok?

That requires such precision that being befuddled in any way by drink … Now, if you're on the balcony for a full day of shooting and you're drinking a single malt all that time, you'd be on the floor.

So, it was cold tea, and I hope that doesn't come as a cold shock to you.

Shatner: My pleasure talking to you.

Shatner: I'm excited to see them and hopefully you as well.

'Mandalorian,' 'Saved by the Bell' stars highlight upcoming GalaxyCon lineup

Shatner is one of several included in GalaxyCon’s 2022 lineup, which includes: