LOVE, LOSS & LEONARD NIMOY

THINK I’m arriving good I and early for my interview with William Shatner when

I click on our video-chat link 10 minutes ahead of time. But William has arrived even earlier: there he is, as soon as my Zoom screen opens, poking away at his computer.

“I like to get in early to ease my mind. But it’s okay, I can meditate afterwards,” he says. His tone is often heavily ironical, as if he is daring you to accuse him of playing a joke on you. This has led to much discussion from fans about “the Shatner persona”, although William scoffs at the phrase. “I don’t know what that even is,” he says.

I think they think you play up to their expectations, I say.

“What are their expectations? That I’m Captain Kirk? Well, I am Captain Kirk! I don’t know what people mean when they talk about my persona. I’m just myself. If you’re not yourself, who are you?”

As it happens, I am asking myself those exact three words: who are you, strange person talking to me from my laptop? He certainly sounds like William Shatner. But William turned 90 in March, and