William Alan Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian double Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Saturn Award-winning actor and novelist. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk, captain of the starship USS Enterprise, in the television series Star Trek: The Original Series from 1966 to 1969, Star Trek: The Animated Series and in seven of the subsequent Star Trek movies. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences playing James T. Kirk and being a part of Star Trek as well as several co-written novels set in the Star Trek universe. He has also authored a series of science fiction novels called TekWar that were adapted for television.

Shatner also played the title role as veteran police sergeant T.J. Hooker, from 1982 to 1986. He has since worked as a musician, bestselling author, producer, director, and celebrity pitchman, most recently as the "Negotiator" for the Priceline.com travel website. From 2004 to 2008, he starred as attorney Denny Crane on the television drama Boston Legal, for which he has won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.