William Shatner has revealed his secret to staying resilient during his various health setbacks.
In a new interview, the 95-year-old Canadian actor said he believes he has a certain “vibration” to help him deal with his health issues, including when he received a stage 4 skin cancer diagnosis in 2023.
“They said, ‘You got cancer. If you came in later, you would have been dead.’ Yeah, see? That’s my life,” he told People. “I think I have a vibration, which is what the universe apparently is — all vibration. This is nothing.”
The Star Trek actor said that he has developed a mindset where “even at this point, I don’t believe I’m going to die.”
He explained: “I teach myself to be aware of my feeling of what I’m seeing, what my senses are doing. I’m driving a car and I’m smiling about it, or I see a hummingbird in the house and I’m conscious of the way his wings are going.”
“And I’m thinking of my dog and my children… I’m aware of the magic of it all.”
In June 2023, Shatner was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer, which had spread to his lungs and brain. Last year, he underwent shoulder surgery after sustaining a serious injury from falling off a horse.
Shatner also told People that he was dealing with stage 4 cancer at the same time as his daughter, Melanie Shatner Gretsch.
Gretsch, 61, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2022 after finding a lump in her breast. Shatner received his diagnosis a year later.
“I remember vividly thinking, ‘I don’t have the strength to take care of myself and lose my father at the same time,’” Gretsch, the youngest daughter of Shatner and first wife Gloria Rand, told the outlet.
The pair were both declared cancer-free by late 2024.
Shatner said: “We got the perfect doctors for her cancer and my cancer.”
The two-time Emmy winner has said that his cancer diagnosis made him more grateful for the little things in his life.
“It’s easy for us in this lovely home to say, ‘Make your life meaningful.’ It’s much more difficult to be poverty-stricken and wonder how you’re going to get through it. I’ve been there,” Shatner told People.
“But it’s also possible to endure that and be aware of the beauty around you,” he said.
Shatner is best known for originating the character of Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series, which aired from 1966 to 1969. The Canadian actor later reprised the role on the animated series and the first seven films, including the 1989 film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
His other roles have included playing a beauty pageant MC in the 2000 Sandra Bullock comedy Miss Congeniality and starring as the title character on the 1980s police drama series TJ Hooker. He has also appeared in the legal drama series The Practice and its spin-off, Boston Legal.
