William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill–currently available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital–is not the typical documentary about an actor.

His acting heroes were Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando, actors on the opposites of the acting spectrum. Being Canadian placed him in between the English and American words. “I had long since heard the words: do the best you can as a character,” the actor said.

In as much as filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe is able to dive beneath the facade, the documentary contains a good amount of clips from the actor’s previous TV, film, and stage appearances. Whether its Captain Kirk on Star Trek, T.J. Hooker, Denny Crane on Boston Legal, The Big Giant Head on 3rd Rock from the Sun, Alexander the Great, Judgment at Nuremberg, playing Duke of Gloucester while understudying Christopher Plummer as Henry V on stage, or commercials such as Priceline, there are no shortages of clips throughout the film. And again, it is not the traditional documentary but if you’ve ever attended the actor’s panel at a fan convention, you would know this. I know from first-hand experience that the man can talk to the point in which there are very few fan questions at such conventions.

The actor has been starring on screen or the stage since breaking through in 1951. Since then, he’s never really stopped. While the film premiered last year at SXSW, days before his 92nd birthday. The man is currently 93 years old and he is still participating in fan conventions–Fan Expo Chicago was among the most recent conventions. In 2021, the actor–famous for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk–went into space as a part of the crew of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin shuttle. He became the oldest person to travel into space at 90 years old, breaking the record of Wally Funk, who was 82 when he went up a few months earlier.

Will this film be for everyone? Maybe, maybe not. If you follow Shatner on social media, the best thing that one can say about him is that he can be a character. But I digress. Shatner is the only person appearing in front of the camera. Well, aside from the dramatizations that stick to a minimal amount of screen time. Other documentaries would include family members, filmmakers, and fellow actors, probably even a few cultural commentators. This isn’t the case here, which certainly sets it apart from other films. In short, how much you like this film depends on your love of Shatner.

What filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe achieves with William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill is reveal the man behind the facade that is William Shatner.

Bonus Features

• ScreenRant Presents: A Live Q&A with William Shatner and Director Alexandre O. Philippe, Hosted by Tamara Krinsky

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Alexandre O. Philippe
FEATURING: William Shatner

Legion M released William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill in theaters on March 22, 2024. Grade: 3.5/5

Please subscribe to Dugout Dirt and Solzy at the Movies on Buttondown.