Jeff Bezos Tells William Shatner How His Childhood Love of ‘Star Trek’ Inspired Him to Go to Space With Blue Origin: ‘All Those Things Are Linked’ (Exclusive)
In William Shatner‘s new memoir, co-written by Joshua Brandon, “William Shatner … and You,” the “Star Trek” actor, 95, reflects on his seven-decade career by focusing on his fans, with anecdotes from former co-stars, collaborators and celebrities like Ben Stiller, Josh Groban, “Weird” Al Yankovic, Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Marina Sirtis, Seth MacFarlane, Hank Azaria, Nick Carter, Jason Alexander and Tom Bergeron, explaining how his work impacted them.
In this exclusive excerpt, Shatner interviews Amazon founder Jeff Bezos about how the science fiction he loved as a kid — namely, “Star Trek” — ultimately inspired him to launch his Blue Origin aerospace company, which, in 2021, launched Shatner into space at 90 years old.
An Unexpected Trekker who literally took me from pretend space-adventurer to real one is, of course, Jeff Bezos.
I will forever be grateful for the opportunity he gave me on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket in 2021. I documented that incredible,