William Shatner has revealed he is heading in for surgery after a frightening accident left him with a serious shoulder injury. The 94-year-old actor, best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek, shared the news while accepting an honour at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films’ Saturn Awards this week.
Shatner, who remains active and working well into his 90s, said he was feeling “old, tired and kind of hurt” as he spoke about the incident. He explained that he recently “came off” one of his horses, describing the kind of riding he does as highly skilled and fast paced. “I ride the horses that can compete in equine skills, which is fast down and ends on a sliding stop,” he said.
He went on to explain what happened in the moments leading up to the fall. “And the horse that I owned, I came off,” he said. “She had a habit of going too far, like six inches to the side. And I’m riding it. And I’m ready. And she goes…”
Shatner, who has a history of doing his own stunts, said he tried to minimise the damage as he hit the ground, but his shoulder took the impact. “I’m not a young stuntman anymore. I started to roll, but hit the dirt with my shoulder. So I wrecked my shoulder,” he said. He added that he will undergo a “new type of shoulder operation called a reverse something or other” this week.
A lifelong equestrian, Shatner has spent decades riding, breeding and exhibiting horses, and continued competing into his 80s, even winning a world championship at 88. He also famously travelled to space in 2021 on Blue Origin’s first crewed flight.
Born in Montreal on March 22, 1931, Shatner appeared in his first film in 1951 while at college. After making his Broadway debut and facing early struggles to find steady work, he spent time on children’s television before building a solid career through the 1950s and early 1960s. His breakthrough came when Star Trek launched in 1966, running until 1969, with Shatner later returning for an animated version in the 1970s.
He found it difficult to escape being typecast, even as Star Trek grew into a phenomenon after the original series ended. Shatner eventually reshaped his screen image in the 1980s police drama T. J. Hooker, then gained a fresh wave of fans through films including Miss Congeniality and its sequel. His later television work on The Practice and its spin-off Boston Legal earned him both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for playing Danny Crane.
Shatner continues to make public appearances, including regular guest spots at Comic-Con events. The accident comes around six months after he was rushed to hospital during a medical emergency that he later attributed to over-indulging, which triggered a blood sugar problem.
