Surprise! He's Canadian!

Many Canadians, especially those in the entertainment industry, move to the United States to seek fame and fortune. Once they get there and become famous, the public often forgets where they came from. In this (possibly) recurring feature, "Surprise! He's Canadian!", I'm going to talk about people you probably never knew were Canadian.

First on the list is Captain James T. Kirk or, more accurately, William Shatner, the first actor to play him.


Shatner was born in Montreal in 1931 and trained as a classical Shakespearian actor. By 1958 he had moved to the United States and was acting in movies, television shows, and plays. It wasn't until 1966 that he landed the role that would make him famous - Captain James Kirk in Star Trek. The TV show was short-lived, but later became so popular that Shatner starred in an animated Star Trek TV series as well as seven Star Trek movies.

Shatner also starred in the popular police drama T.J. Hooker (1982-1986) and has tried his hand at writing (both fiction and non-fiction), singing, and directing. Captain Kirk remains his best-known role, and Shatner has often bemoaned the fact that he became a cult figure and was typecast, making it difficult for him to find other roles.