Perhaps the most important guest at this year’s Wizard World Nashville Comic Con (KHAAAAAANN!!!!!), the ever-dynamic cultural juggernaut William Shatner, has captivated audiences for generations. The star of stage and screen is known for portraying sci-fi mainstay Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek TV series and movie franchise, and Shatner’s post-Trek appearances include seminal episodes of The Twilight Zone, T.J. Hooker, Boston Legal and the very recent Priceline commercials.

Shatner will be touching down in Nashville to live like common people for the 2014 Nashville Comic Con. Set phasers to “stunned.”

Murfreesboro Pulse: Mr. Shatner, thank you for joining us.
Shatner: Thank you, I’m looking forward to coming to Nashville for Comic Con. I’ll be there Friday and Saturday. I look forward to visiting with your readership.

Most certainly. Our first question, sir, is that you’re coming for the Wizard World Nashville Comic Con. What can fans at the convention expect from you?
Well, I’ll be there visiting with everybody. Talking to them, signing autographs, taking pictures. And then on Saturday I’ll get up onstage and talk to them and . . . entertain them, I guess. And hopefully inform them and get to know each other a little better.

So you plan on getting to know as many fans as well as you can in the Nashville area as possible?
Yes. There should be quite a number of them. These comic-cons are very popular.

What are your impressions of the Music City area?
Well, I have been in Nashville several times. We’ve got friends there in the music industry. And I have become very fond of Nashville. I recorded an album there a few years ago with Ben Folds . . . and in a couple of weeks I was just living the music dream and being a part of the Nashville country music world. We’ve made some wonderful friends over there.

Do you have any plans to continue your collaborative efforts with Mr. Folds?
I admire him and care for him a great deal. I don’t know, if I’m asked to do another album, then I certainly would. He’s a genius talent. I did another album subsequent to that called Ponder the Mystery with a great musician called Billy Sherwood. Actually, there are two other albums since the album called Has Been.

Very cool. So it seems that your musical efforts have had you cross paths with different genres and artists.
Yeah, exactly. These are wonderful, creative artists . . . these great musicians are still making great music. And just to be a small part of it is a privilege.

In terms of music, are there any folks you’ve been dying to collaborate with?
Well, almost anybody that you might think of that’s popular. Country music is really a favorite of mine. And there are some really great musicians—not only lyricists, but people who write great melodies, play a wonderful instrument . . . it’s this American form that I admire completely. But the individual artists, almost anyone that’s popular would be great to work with.

And I run a horse show called the Hollywood Charity Horse Show every year of the last many years. I’ve invited many country music stars to come to Los Angeles to help us out. Last year[’s featured celebrity] being Wynonna Judd—she was marvelous. I’m hoping she’ll drop by the Comic Con.

If not, there’s always Jack White and the folks at Third Man Records.
Yes, exactly. There are a lot of people who I’m hopeful will come out and visit and have fun with us. It’s a joyful event, Comic Con. Something that folks really have fun at. They get dressed up some of them, and other people come to visit with their favorite personality, as there will be a lot of them there. Everybody who shows up has a really good time. . . . What happens is that people come for an autograph or a picture, and that gives them time for a few words. Afterward, I plan on getting on stage for an hour and a half and taking questions or telling them stories. It’s quite eventful. And every comic con has its own dynamic. The Nashville one should be really super.

Mr. Shatner, you recently got an award from NASA regarding “Distinguished Public Service”?
Isn’t that something? That’s remarkable. I’m so impressed with myself about them giving me that award. Totally undeserving, I think, but I’ve accepted it with great gratitude.

With your efforts inspiring young children’s interest in science through science fiction, what do you think our school systems could do more of to educate children?
Well, there is a wonderful mystery that, any time you look at the sky, you participate in. And to keep that curiosity and that sense of mystery alive, is what schools should be doing. Science is a wonderful attempt to answer some of the questions that every human being asks. . . . More American kids should be interested in science because it’s the exploration of the future. Science is filled with what the answers might be to the eternal questions that it just takes encouragement. That’s what the school should be doing.

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