Shatner marvels at Blue Origin flight frenzy, 'finite' Earth

LOS ANGELES (AP) — William Shatner's durable role as an avatar of space's promise drew a frenzy of attention when fiction became fact with his rocket ride.

The “Star Trek” actor says he was as surprised by it as he was gratified by the 10-minute, suborbital jaunt made possible by billionaire Jeff Bezos. The experience is the subject of “Shatner in Space,” a hour-long special out Wednesday on Amazon Prime Video.

It details last October's flight that made Shatner, 90, the oldest person to reach space and explores what the streaming service called the “growing friendship” between Shatner and Bezos. The Amazon empire founder credits “Star Trek" with igniting his interest in space travel.

Shatner, whose decades-long career includes “The Defenders,” “T.J. Hooker” and “Boston Legal” along with the original “Star Trek” series and films, wanted to be part of Bezos' Blue Origin launch last July, its first with passengers. Shatner saw joining trip No. 2 akin to being named vice president when the Oval Office was the dream.

He discussed his change of heart and the flight's impact in an Associated Press interview, shifting between philosopher and blunt storyteller who, at one point, invoked 1937′s Hindenburg blimp explosion. Remarks were edited for length and clarity.

AP: The zest for adventure can ebb with the years, but it hasn't with you. How do you explain it?

SHATNER: Well, I've been doing a lot of foolish things, according to my wife, in the last many years. I'm probably an adrenaline junkie. A couple of years ago I drove a motorcycle across the country, and I recently went down 60 feet underwater and visited with four tiger sharks. I'm no stranger to thinking, “Oh, geez, I can die here.” But I didn’t feel the necessity of going up into space. Why do I want to put myself in...