Wang Is No Fan Of Shatner
2 min readGeorge Takei isn’t alone when it comes to his dislike of Star Trek‘s William Shatner.
Star Trek: Voyager‘s Garrett Wang used to be a fan of the man best-known for playing Captain Kirk until an unfortunate meeting with Shatner changed his mind.
Wang shared his story of what went wrong with the crowd at Comikaze Expo, which took place last weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center. “I was at the Tulsa Trek Expo [last year],” he said. “I was in the ‘green room,’ so this is a backstage room where only the actors are. So I walked up to him and said ‘Mr. Shatner, I finally get to meet you.’
“[Shatner’s handshake] was limp-wristed; he gave me this, like he was the Queen of England or something. So he gives me that, then in the middle of the handshake, he looks away, then he pulls his hand away and he wipes it off on his shirt, right in front of me.
“All I saw was red. You know what? God help me, I want to punch his fat belly right now. I was so mad. I want to tell you guys, I love Captain Kirk, but I fricken’ cannot stand William Shatner. I’m gonna say that right now. That is no way to treat someone.”
At Comikaze, Wang also spoke about the Star Trek XI premiere back in 2009 and his thoughts on the lack of Star Trek: Voyager actors in attendance. According to Wang, none of the Voyager actors were invited to that premiere. “I just gave you seven years of my life,” said Wang. “You think I can get an invite to the damn premiere? No.”
In spite of that disrespect, Wang said that he would love to be part of a new Star Trek series.
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This is because Star Trek Voyager was a blight on the franchise and he was awful. Deal with it, people would rather meet that Trip guy from the one with the Rod Stewart theme tune.
People really aren’t fair to the Voyager actors. Voyager was great, Wang as Harry Kim was great, Enterprise is the blight on the franchise, not Voyager. Voyager just pissed off the purists because it wasn’t another TNG or DS9. I’d love to meet Wang and ask him how he dealt with the makeup in that one episode where Kim gets half-eaten by the fungus 🙂
At the same time, I love Shatner’s Return books and was very disappointed to learn he wasn’t going to be in the recent Trek film. Just wish he would act more like a human being when not on camera – I rather suspect this might have had something to do with his exclusion.
“I just gave you seven years of my life,” said Wang. Didn’t he get compensated somehow during these seven years?
I’m sorry Wang had a negative experience with Shatner. Last week I had VIP seats for “An Evening with William Shatner” and got to meet him briefly (as in shake hands – a firm handshake -, say a few words, and get my picture taken with him) after the show.
Garrett Wang was as wooden and uninspired as the character he was playing.
And Shatner didn’t wrote those Star Trek novels–he paid someone else to write them.
At least shatner didnt spit on him.
I like it how you said ‘that Trip guy, from the one with the Rod Stewart theme tune’. Might have been better to say people would rather meet Connor Trinneer who played Charles ‘trip’ Tucker in Star Trek Enterprise
I really liked the Voyager series and some of the episodes really were mind boggling cutting edge and outside of the box much like a handful of episodes in the last two to three years of the STTNG. I thought Wang did OK as Kim but many of the story lines did not focus on him and sometimes when they did they did not deliver. Kim’s character though complemented the other players well and added to their depth and dimension even though he was not the primary focus.
Kim had a big role in some of the most mind boggling episodes such as the one with the frozen Voyager locked in the glacier. He was great in that and in some other episodes but I didn’t get the sense the writers banked on him like Seven of Nine, Paris and The Doctor.
sure you can say that but he could be saying that for the whole cast and I don’t think he meant it that way.
it is too bad to hear stuff like this. it could be a misunderstanding but it is weird. the original stars obviously had some issues with Shatner so this is nothing new. In the former, there could have been rivalry but in the latter years, you’d hope things would be more cordial. I saw the video with Pine meeting Shatner in what appeared to be the first time they were meeting but it seemed Shatner was a bit tipsy and didn’t realize Pine was hovering over him and trying to greet him gracefully.
Shatner is getting up there in age. Another theory is that he thought he was a reincarnation of George Takei and , abhorred the thought of being near him and was worried about catching some gay transmitted STDs.
Wang was actually going to be fired, but instead they decided to let Jennifer Lien go. The producers didn’t like him–they felt he was lazy and uncooperative–so they wanted to get rid of him. I wish they’d kept Lien and gotten rid of Wang. Their decision was a big mistake.
Uh maybe his hand was sweaty LOL people are so sensitive.. waaa
Someone tell Wang to get over it. Shatner just displayed what the rest of us think…Wang horrible actor, Harry Kim horrible and wimpy character.
“In spite of that disrespect, Wang said that he would love to be part of a new Star Trek series”.
Sorry Mr. Wang I don’t think so !
If there’s a character more worthless than Travis Mayweather in the franchise, Harry Kim is it. They even made him a joke within his own series. Gullible to the end, and completely and hopelessly boring. Why else didn’t he end up with a promotion? But Paris was promoted and demoted multiple times. Nobody cared enough to write a story that would feature Garret Wang enough to actually cause him to be promoted. Nobody cared… and nobody cares… these comments from Wang indicate someone who feels they have been mistreated. I’m sorry, but Voyager wasn’t great and Garret Wang was a big part of that mediocrity. I couldn’t care less if William Shatner liked him, respects him, or ignored his existence. The idea that he deserved an invitation to the Abrams premiere just speaks to how entitled the actors of Voyager had/have become…
Shatner goes to great lengths to show he is an everyday Joe. Then this appears, maybe he did not have a clue who Garret Wang was. He is also for as much as we only see him in our minds in his star trek image a pretty old guy. So maybe he was having a senior moment.
Voyager was a thousand times better than Enterprise. Enterprise killed the franchise. Enterprise the so called pre story. mentioning Ferengi and Cardassian’s when they should not have been talked about at all. if their last year was their 1st season and moved from there it would have been better. Xendi what a buch of bullshit.Then we got a bullshit movie where we go to an alternate universe and just rewrite to whole story anyway we want.
This guy is a talentless, egotistical bore. He gave us seven years of crap, that’s what. Oh, and he got well paid for it. The Voyager crew were the worst. No camaraderie, no talent, and just plain terrible! I’m glad Shatner didn’t give this non-entity the time of day. Oh and Wang, you’ll NEVER be a part of Star Trek again! Good riddance!
How did Wang approach Shatner? It sounds like he just walked up to him and grabbed his hand. Usually you extend your hand and wait for the other person to shake it. The fact that Shatner’s hand was limp implies he wasn’t even ready for a handshake or didn’t want to give one. He probably had no idea who Wang was! If someone did that to me, I’d grab my hand back and be like WTF dude?
Whining, and moaning, and badmouthing another actor (one of Star Trek’s Founding Fathers no less) — and he hated Berman and he hated Bragga, and he felt slighted by
J.J. Abrams; and he felt he GAVE 7 years of his life to Star Trek. My God, the Ego. Reality check, Mr. Wang: you were born healthy and good looking; you landed a plum role on a good show; you were paid handsomely for seven years; you are now part of a beloved Science Fiction Mythology; and the Universe doesn’t OWE you anything. Not one thing. You should be GRATEFUL to Berman and Bragga and your cast-mates and the fans and YES, even William Shatner, for without them, none of it would have happened.
I met Wang at DragonCon last year (2010). He is a wonderful person. My husband cut the camera off when trying to get pic of me with Wang. Wang took the time to show my husband how to work the camera, & then posed for photo with me. And as far as his En. Kim character, I loved him. The hope & belief in others is still the way some of us are. Shatner isn’t always nice, so I’m not shocked by his behavior. I hated the lack of Voyager stars at many of the cons. I was thrilled to meet Wang & Beltran at last. I hope to get to hang with Wang again.
I can back up what Wang said about Shatner. Met Shatner at Creation in London back in 2003, and he was openly rude, abrasive and disrespectful to everyone. His on screen behaviour during that convention shown his Captains documentary was the polar opposite of the Shatner I saw.
He’s a nasty little man, and I quite understand why the TOS cast really didn’t like him, and why even after all these years, the remaining surviving cast still don’t like him.
Another disgruntled former Star Trek actor dumping on Shatner to get attention. Please get over yourself, Mr. Wang.
WAIT A MINUTE!! Maybe Shatner was protecting himself and his image? Consider the alternative if Bill had broken out in a big smile and given Garrett a big, big bear hug. The caption on blog posts everywhere would read: SHATNER LOVES WANG!
Yes, you should let someone piss all over you and be grateful.
I should tell you, I’ve met Shatner, and when he is nice he is very nice, but at least as often, he’s a spoiled, petulant little child. Particularly when nobody he considers important is around to watch. When he behaves that way, it makes it a just a little bit difficult to respect him on a personal level.
I can thank him for Kirk, I can thank him for Denny Crane, I can thank him for all the good things he’s brought into my life, but I still say that he can be the biggest douche in the universe when you’re not kissing his ass.
I only watched that episode to see Voyager crash, watch everyone die, and cheer as Seven of Nine got dissected.
I gotta admit, that’s good.
Yes, Gar and Judy Reeves-Stevens. And Shatner insisted they get credit on the covers for it.
‘Who’ from the ‘what’? I heard there was some sort of show on after Voyager, but it was such boring, stupid, formula crap that my mind just completely rejected it.
Wasn’t there another emotionless hot alien chick in a catsuit (AKA a “Brannon Braga Lifesize Fan-wank Fantasy Toy”)?
I met him a number of times at conventions and he was always a gentleman and very nice.Maybe you got him on a bad day.Not everyone is in a great mood all the time. You dont know what was going on in his private life when you met him,do you?
If you feel “pissed on” by someone, then stand up for yourself and confront the person or persons at the time. We call that courage. If you go to conventions to bellyache and grouse to the fans ad-nauseam (and behind people’s backs) about how your “Shatner handshake moment” was spoiled; and then continue to damn and disrespect everyone connected with the show that launched your career; we call that something else. Wang is a killjoy, a crosspatch, and a no class crybaby.
I read somewhere that this was true – Wang was going to be fired foe being late to the set, never being prepared to film, etc. But a couple of weeks before, People magazine had named him one of their “50 Most Beautiful People”, and the producers thought it might be good PR for the show, so Jennifer Lien got the boot instead.
That said, Harry Kim was utterly forgettable in a show that was the beginning of the end for Star Trek, and Garrett Wang sounds like a prissy little b*tch. Nothing is ever good enough in his world.
Bite the hand the feeds you, insult other actors who had careers that eclipsed yours, and then, to top it all off, have the audacity to ask to be hired again? Go away, Ensign Kim.
Nothing destroys the awesome sexiness of Jeri Ryan more than the thought of a sweaty, satisfied Brannon Braga lying next to her.
<— stabs his mind's eye out
This is ridiculous… if Mr. Wang has an issue with Shatner, he needs to address it with him… now airing his dirty trek laundry in the public forum like this… And the comment about them owing his after 7 years…. Unless he worked for free, then no they dont… he makes $ off of conventions, autographs, other appearances, etc. So ridiculous…
Oh. I can agree with that.
Thank you SO much for that mental image. A score of brain-scarred Klingon warriors are on their way over for a little discussion. {:<-
Corollary: Nothing destroys the acting talent of Jeri Ryan like being told not to worry so much about the crap scripts, just stand there and look pretty.
Wait, people have nice things to say about Voyager?
Sounds like Bill Shatner. After those comments he made about not sharing the stage with James Doohan(who was dying from Altzheimer’s at the time)because he did not want to put up with(in Shatner’s own words)that Altzheimer’s crap, I literally wanted to punch him out. What he did is no different than what George Clooney foolishly did concerning Charlton Heston.
Granted I don’t care much for TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise, but I can certainly understand where Mr. Wang was coming from.
That kind of behavior on Shatner’s part is just down right rude. About as rude as the comments that Bonnie ‘T’Bonz’ Malmat and Dennis Bailey are well known for on the Trek BBS and the prima donna, high school-clique like mentalities displayed by the Starship Farragut and Starship Ajax cast and crew.
It may be the 21st century, but there is absolutely no excuse for rudeness and bad manners.
It just goes to show you that humanity still has a long way to go before it reaches that mature level that Gene Roddenberry predicted in the riginal series.
It still doesn’t mean that Shatner had to be rude and disrespectful.
Shatner has come off that way for so many years, and just lets his ego get to his head. I, too, met Shatner in person back in 1992, and I can honestly say that after being aroun d him for five minutes, I literally wanted to deck the guy! His egotistic behavior was certainly appalling!
I totally concur with what Kang the Unbalanced has stated about Shatner’s personality.
Bill Shatner thinks he is God’s guft to acting. He should realize that if it were not for the fans, he wouldn’t be famous and financially secure. It’s not hard to understand why Jimmy Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, and George Takei don’t think very highly of him.
Bill Shatner should be nicknamed Bull Shit. Lord knows his ego is full of it!
Wel, it warms my heart that after 30 some years working to promote the inherant values of STAR TREK -to find it hijacked by a pack of swarmy self-cenered HATERS . Take a look at these posts=then piss off & watch transformers -vile wankers.
Physician, heal thyself.
You sound just like T’Bonz and Dennis Bailey.
Ya, all these jack-asses here still blindly service William Shatner like the Nazi’s blindly serviced Adolph Hitler.
Your being a pretend leader, on a tv show, does not give you the privileged to treat people like they are non-humans and worthless.
William Shatner reminds me of the old white lady from Color Purple, Miss Millie. Miss Millie is the woman who forces Sofia, Oprah Winfrey, into being her maid.
Ya, why do some of the jack-asses here, who still service William Shatner, still follow him the way the Nazi’s followed Hitler, even after all the witnesses to his being an ass?
Just because you played a pretend leader on a tv show, does not give you the privilege to treat people like they are worthless or non-human.
Shatner reminds me of the old rich lady from Color Purple, Miss Millie. Miss Millie is the woman who forces Sofia into being her maid.
Is that a bad thing? Either homophobic or your disgusted with what heterosexual females like?