William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor, author, producer, and director. In his seven decades of television, Shatner became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T. Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise, in the Star Trek franchise. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences playing Captain Kirk and being a part of Star Trek, and has co-written several novels set in the Star Trek universe. He has written a series of science fiction novels called TekWar, which were adapted for television.

Shatner also played the eponymous veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker (1982–86), and then he hosted the reality-based television series, Rescue 911 (1989–96), which won a People's Choice Award for the Favorite New TV Dramatic Series. Shatner also appeared in the NBC series, "Third Rock From the Sun" in seasons 4 and 5 as the role of the "Big Giant Head" whom the alien characters of the Series reported to. He has worked as a musician, an author, a director, and a celebrity pitchman. He starred as attorney Denny Crane in the final season of the legal drama The Practice and its spinoff series Boston Legal, a role that earned him two Emmy Awards.