William Shatner Regrets Missing the Opportunity to Talk to Marlon Brando

Star Trek's William Shatner says the celebrity he regrets not meeting is Marlon Brando. ComicBook.com spoke to the star ahead of his appearance at Mega Con 2024 in Orlando on February 3-4. In our exclusive interview, Shatner explained how he missed that opportunity and still thinks about it occasionally. Sitting in that room in California, he laments not just going over to Brando's house and introducing himself while the chance was there. In a life filled with a lot of success and the opportunity to travel the world, this being the one that got away is very interesting. It speaks to the level of star the older actor was in his time, and how it can be hard to find anyone of that stature working now.

"Well, I'm sitting in a room overlooking the San Fernando Valley talking to you, and I can see the hills, which are the Santa Monica Mountains," the star said as he set the scene. "In within screaming distance in the Santa Monica Mountains, that's what happens when you have my kind of mind. Brando." 

"Yeah, Brando. Marlon Brando lived, I can't quite see his house, but if I really made an effort, I could," Shatner added. "And I admired him very much and always thought I could walk up, ring the bell and say, "I'm Shatner and I'd love to talk to you," and I probably would've worked, but I was too shy to do that. And then by the time I kind of reconsidered all that, he died. So I missed that opportunity." 

Brando's Lasting Influence

Brando still looms as a legendary figure in Hollywood, even after his passing. With Superman: Legacy coming soon from DC Films, people have wondered who the net man to play the hero's father would be. Of course, Brando played Jor-El in the iconic Richard Donner Superman movie. A popular pick for that role this time around has been Kurt Russel. The actor already has a previous relationship with director James Gunn. ComicBook.com spoke to the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star about stepping into Brando's shoes.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'll take on Marlon Brando!" Kurt Russell chuckled before adding, "I mean there was something awesome about the way he was just looking around – I don't care that he was looking at his lines – he's crazy-great to watch!" 

Kurt Russell would only address those rumors while nodding toward a possible new direction for Jor-El. There's a lot of ground to be covered in that way. We've seen the Brando interpretation numerous times now. He said, "You know what: we don't know a lot about Jor-El. Maybe there's a version...  I never heard this, so I don't know. James Gunn was a blast to work with, though, so you never know."

Shatner Goes To Space

ComicBook.com also spoke to the Star Trek star about his highly-publicized trip to outer space. With the Blue Origin crew, the actor set off on the New Shepard NS-18. Although the journey was unbelievable, there was a profound sadness present for Shatner. He would go into more detail when we asked about his "grief."

"The opportunity may be presented to me, and I thought, I don't want to repeat what happened to me emotionally going up there with Blue Origin, but If I went up again… I don't want to say too much," he said. "When I came down from the Blue Origin trip, I was filled with despair about the earth and what we've done and about what's happening and the extinction of so many species. But there is a rising campaign by numerous people, many of them scientists, to try and rectify that. But if I were to go up again, my thought is I would come down armed with the knowledge of many of those entities that are trying to stop the destruction that's going on, and I would celebrate that."

What celebrity do you wish you could have met? Let us know down in the comments!