The Big Picture

William Shatner’s new documentary, “You Can Call Me Bill,” reflects on his extensive on-screen career and iconic characters.
The film is a stripped-down documentary that puts the mic entirely in Shatner’s hands, allowing him to ruminate on his experiences and passions.
Shatner considers the documentary to be a way of reaching out to his fans after he dies, as he believes his time is limited.

Legendary actor William Shatner has done it all in his career at this point. He’s been to space both as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek and in real life through Blue Origin, he’s won Emmys, and he’s appeared in hundreds of film and television roles across an over 70-year career on-screen, among other accomplishments. Now, he’s heading back to theaters with the new documentary You Can Call Me Bill, which debuted at SXSW last year. Ahead of the film’s release on Friday, March 22 – Shatner’s 93rd birthday – Collider can share a new poster that reflects on his extensive on-screen career and its most iconic characters.

The colorful, intergalactic poster shows Shatner looming over Earth while donning his Blue Origin jumpsuit. Behind him is a collection of roles he notably played on the big and small screen with Kirk, his most memorable character, directly behind him. Shatner helmed the USS Enterprise from 1966 through 1969 in Star Trek: The Original Series on NBC before going on to reprise the role of Captain Kirk in Star Trek: The Animated Series and the seven original films from Paramount that helped establish the franchise as a mainstay of pop-culture. His other notable turns stand to the right and left of the iconic starship commander, including Boston Legal and The Practice attorney Denny Crane, a role that earned Shatner a pair of Emmys and many more nominations, and the titular officer T.J. Hooker.

Like the poster, You Can Call Me Bill reflects the life, career, and legacy of Shatner from his breakout role as Kirk to his later roles that would keep him a mainstay on-screen to this day. Director Alexandre O. Philippe takes a look at the actor’s personal journey and accomplishments in a stripped-down documentary format that puts the mic entirely in Shatner’s hands. Throughout the film, which hails from fan-owned production company Legion M, he ruminates on everything he’s experienced, his passions, the arts, what he’s offered for the entertainment industry, what’s to come in the future, and much more. The goal of the film is to go beneath the mask of Kirk, Hooker, Crane, and more, to hit at the deeper philosophy of the man himself in his own words.

Shatner Wanted His Experiences to Live On Through ‘You Can Call Me Bill’
Image via Legion M

Shatner hasn’t let age slow him down in terms of his creative endeavors. Although his acting jobs are fewer and further between nowadays, he still finds time for the occasional role, like his recent voice-over appearance in Masters of the Universe: Revolution, and other ventures like the reality series Stars On Mars. Yet, he told Variety back in 2023 that You Can Call Me Bill was so important to do now because, to put it bluntly, “I don’t have long to live.” He added, “Whether I keel over as I’m speaking to you or 10 years from now, my time is limited, so that’s very much a factor. I’ve got grandchildren. This documentary is a way of reaching out after I die.” Critics lauded the more contemplative look at Shatner in You Can Call Me Bill during its festival circuit run, landing it a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and billing it as a must-watch for fans of the iconic actor.

You Can Call Me Bill finally beams into theaters for general audiences on March 22. Check out the exclusive poster above.