Star Trek GenerationsWatch William Shatner get a second chance at Captain Kirk's
Published on December 01, 2025 EDT The actor believed his death scene performance came off more "fearful" than full of "wonder."

William Shatner is getting another shot at Captain Kirk’s Star Trek Generations death scene.

One week after the actor revealed that he wasn't pleased with Kirk’s final line delivery in the 1994 film, Shatner was offered a chance to recreate the dramatic the scene while visiting Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday.

Shatner explained on the talk show that his problem with his original performance — which sees a bloodied Kirk say, “oh my,” before dying — was that the USS Enterprise captain sounded afraid of dying, rather than full of wonder at the prospect of the next adventure.

“I think you die the way you live,” he said. “So, Captain Kirk always had these grotesque things happening, 'Oh, look at that! It’s an animal! I think it’s going to eat me,' you know? But without fear… with joy and love and opportunity to see what’s better.”

Paramount

So he attempted to see death through Kirk’s eyes. “I thought I had lived the ‘Oh my,’” he said. “I thought that he would see death — old man with a scythe on his shoulder — and look at it and wonder.”

Instead, Shatner said that his take in the film “sounded fearful,” adding, “and I didn’t want to be fearful.”

Host Jimmy Kimmel then asked Shatner if he'd like a “do over,” before grabbing some fake rocks and debris to scatter around the 93-year-old as he got comfortable in his chair. Kimmel also offered Shatner some “ketchup as blood” if he’d like, but was swiftly turned down.

Turned towards the camera, Shatner then performed a dramatic new rendition of Kirk’s “Oh my” scene, this time decidedly less fearful. To show his performance was over, he remarked, “...And he dies.”

“Wow,” Kimmel said as the audience cheered. “That was good.”

Earlier this month, Shatner admitted in an interview with ScreenRant that he “never quite hit” what he was trying to accomplish with the tragic scene.

“I never quite got that nuance that I was looking for,” he said. “I had another couple of takes, but they they didn't understand what I was doing.”

Watch Shatner get a second chance in the clip above.

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