Joey Paur
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It’s no secret that there was a lot of drama on the set of the original Star Trek series while it was in production. This drama was caused by the growing egos of some of the cast members including William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock.
Since the two actors had top billing on the show, they thought that they were the stars, even though the show has been praised for its ensemble-diverse cast that all played a role in the stories that they were telling. It turns out that Shatner and Nimoy were always looking to upstage them and bask in the spotlight for themselves.
We’ve mostly heard stories about Shatner, but Nimoy also had an ego that got the better of him at times. At one point things just got way too out of control and the behavior of Shatner and Nimoy made Roddenberry angry and he ended up writing them a scathing letter rebuking them for their behavior.
It got to the point where the actors were swapping lines and taking dialogue from their co-stars. They were fighting for as much screen time as possible. They also had delays in production and their characters started to change. When word got to Roddenberry of what was going on he wanted to put a stop to them abusing their privilege.
The letter he wrote was addressed to both Shatner and Nimoy and it was published in The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years (via /Film). It reads:
Toss these pages in the air if you like, stomp off and be angry, it doesn’t mean that much since you’ve driven me to the edge of not giving a damn. […] No, William, I’m not really writing this to Leonard and just including you as a matter of psychology. I’m talking to you directly and with an angry honesty you haven’t heard before. And Leonard, you’d be very wrong if you think I’m really teeing off at Shatner and only pretending to include you. The same letter to both; you’ve pretty well divided up the market on selfishness and egocentricity.
I want you to realize fully where your fight for absolute screen dominance is taking you. It’s already affecting the image of Captain Kirk on the screen. We’re heading for an arrogant, loud, half-assed Queeg character who is so blatantly insecure upon that screen that he can’t afford to let anyone else have an idea, give an order, or solve a problem. You can’t hide things like that from an audience.
And now, Leonard. I must say that if I were Shatner, I’d be nervous and edgy about you by now, too. For a man who makes no secret of his own sensitivity, you show a strange lack of understanding of it in your fellow actors.
For as long as I stay with the show, starting Monday, there will be no more line switches from one to another. No more of the long discussions about scenes which lose us approximately a half day of production a show — the director will permit it only when there is a valid dramatic story or interpretation point at stake which he believes makes it necessary. The director will be told he is also replaceable, and failure to stay on top and in charge of the set will be grounds for his dismissal.
Damn… that’s a great letter! It’s always interesting and fun to learn behind-the-scenes stories behind the things that we love. If you’ve never seen this letter, I hope you got a kick out of it! Shatner and Nimoy definitely deserved to be put in their place.