William Shatner is speaking openly about the "loneliness" he experienced at the height of his career.
The 90-year-old actor, who famously played Captain James T. Kirk in "Star Trek," admitted in an interview with the PA News Agency that he felt pressure as a rising star to succeed. Looking back, Shatner, who is preparing to release an album later this year, said he wished he could tell his younger self that fame and fortune would not prevent him from feeling lonely, in fact, nothing could stop those feelings from creeping in.
"As a young actor, you’re always balancing on the precipice of failure and you’re about to fall all the time. And you stumble back and something comes along and it’s successful, you’re OK for a while and then you agonize over everything," he said, according to The International News.
"The album is autobiographical and one of the songs is about loneliness, how much loneliness was a part of my life," Shatner continued, speaking about his forthcoming release, "Love, Death And Horses." "It is a part of everybody’s life, no matter how much attention you get, and how happily married you are, and how many children you have."
Shatner pointed out that, as one of his songs states, "we’re all essentially alone and the big mystery is will there be anybody there at the end?"
"So loneliness is a huge aspect to what I felt all those years ago, but I’m still alive," he added. "I’ve still survived loneliness. Had I known all those things, I might have assuaged that, but, if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t know now what I know."
Shatner has not shied away from speaking about his personal fears, as well as the loneliness he has felt over the years. When appearing at the Banff World Television Festival in 2010, he admitted that life has not always been easy.
"My life was a series of pools of loneliness [from] which every so often I was able to emerge with some companionship, and subdue that dreadful feeling that had dogged me for much of my life," he said, according to The Globe and Mail.
"And frequently even with the kudos I was receiving, I was not happy with the private part of my existence. But slowly I changed. The drill that life puts you through can make you or break you, and fortunately I became more comfortable with relationships and slowly evolved in reaching out to friends and family."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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