William Shatner defends friendship with 'Star Trek' co-star Leonard Nimoy after claims of feud by late actor's son

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Spock and Kirk were “brothers” for life and William Shatner would not have it otherwise.

Shatner, who played James T Kirk in the original ‘Star Trek’ TV series and films, is defending his relationship with late co-star Leonard Nimoy after Nimoy’s son, Adam Nimoy hinted that the two actors did not get along on set. 

Adam, 67, a television director, is reminiscing about his late father who died in 2015, aged 83, in his new book ‘The Most Human: Reconciling With My Father, Leonard Nimoy.’

In the book released on Tuesday, June 4, Adam claimed that his father - who played the role of Mr Spock - and Shatner harbored a contentious relationship with each other and did not get along much. 

Now, Shatner is defending his friendship, claiming that Adam “wasn’t around” when the iconic duo worked together to know the full extent of their relationship.

William Shatner talks about his ‘dearest friend’ Leonard Nimoy

During a recent interview with the New York Post, the ‘Boston Legal’ star vehemently denied the junior Nimoy’s conjectures.

The television director son of Leonard, recently wrote in his book that the iconic duo did not get well on the sets of ‘Star Trek’. 

Adam recalled about his father, “Years later, when he was sober and being interviewed by no less than Bill Shatner, Dad admitted his habitual drinking began in the 1960s to cope with the pressures of making ‘Star Trek.’”

“What he didn’t say during that segment — and later confided in me — was that his drinking was the result of long hours on the set, the difficult producers, and his problems with Bill Shatner,” he added. 

Shatner, who co-starred with Nimoy in the ‘Star Trek’ series from 1966 to 1969, vented out in the interview, “He didn’t know. He was too young to know my relationship with Leonard.”

Born in 1956, Adam was 10 years old when the series started filming in 1966. 

The ‘UnXplained’ star continued, “I don’t know what he said in his book, but my relationship with Leonard was one of joy. To be able to share something with another human being with the full knowledge that what you’re saying is sacrosanct and personal.”

The ‘Columbo’ actor shared, “So we talked about divorce and death and children and life.”

Shatner gushed about his friendship with Nimoy, saying, “We were able to share knowing that what we were sharing was between us and only between us,” before noting the ‘Fringe’ actor was the “brother I never had.”

He continued, “He was my dearest friend,” and noted, “And I never had a friend like him. I never had a relationship with any male guy like the relationship I had with Leonard. I loved him, and I believe he loved me. We were brothers.”

The ‘Miss Congeniality’ star further shared that the bond he shared with Nimoy was not only special but also “rare.” 

He explained, “You never know with other people or who are fans or people who … it’s very difficult to find somebody that is so personally involved that you trust them completely,” adding, “It’s very rare. And I had that with Leonard.”

“So I don’t know what his son wrote, but the son was never around,” he noted while adding that it was Adam who “had a bad relationship” with his father.

Shatner added, “So I hope that Adam is kind.”

William Shatner remembered Leonard Nimoy in his 2016 book

Shatner dedicated a book titled ‘Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship With a Remarkable Man’ to commemorate his friendship with the ‘T J Hooker’ star. 

In his book, he noted that while the two men maintained a steady friendship for five decades, towards the end of Nimoy’s life they grew apart. 

When he was asked whether he knew the reason for the apparent drift during a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Shatner revealed, “No, and he was my dearest friend.”

He explained, “We talked about all kinds of things in the darkness of the limousine, about divorce and children. But something happened, I don’t know what, it was so bizarre. But his daughter told me not long ago: ‘He really loved you.’ And that moved me to tears.”