Star Trek icon William Shatner marked his birthday with a heartfelt appeal, urging people to act on a cause he says can’t wait ‘before it’s too late’.
On Sunday (March 22), the actor used the milestone as a platform for a message he routinely returns to: encouraging the public to pay attention to the welfare of animals and the world they depend on. Now 95, he framed the moment as a direct call for animal lovers to get involved.
This year, Shatner teamed up with animal rights organisation PETA to spotlight climate change and the wider environmental destruction that has pushed numerous species toward extinction over the last century.
In his birthday message, Shatner praised the group, stating that ‘PETA is terrific’, before condemning the human impact on wildlife, saying: “The animals that took millions of years, in some cases, billions of years, to evolve and be part of the environment, they’re dying because of man.”
He went on to underline the stakes, adding: “It’s tragic. This beautiful planet that is so gorgeous and so interconnected, we’re killing it, and we have a chance to stop that.”
The clip closes with a brief message from PETA: “Please go vegan. Every animal is someone.”
Away from the PSA, Shatner also celebrated the day on Instagram with two photos of himself enjoying a cigar in a scenic setting, alongside the caption: ‘At 95, I’m still smokin’!’
He paired the birthday post with two pieces of personal advice, starting with a line that matched the cigar in hand: ‘never waste a good cigar’. Fans of his work as Denny Crane in Boston Legal may recognise the sentiment, given the character’s signature end-of-episode ritual of a drink and a thick cigar.
His second takeaway was a reminder not to be boxed in by age expectations. Shatner put it like this: “Never trust anyone who says you should ‘act your age.’”
That outlook has been reflected in his packed later-life schedule, from globe-trotting alongside fellow celebrities in NBC’s Better Late Than Never (2016–2018) to appearing in the romantic comedy Senior Moment (2021).
In 2022, he added another headline-grabbing entry to his résumé by becoming the oldest person to travel to space, flying on Blue Origin after being invited by Jeff Bezos.
And he doesn’t appear to be slowing down: Shatner is also expected to drop his first heavy metal album later this year, featuring covers of tracks by Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden.