EXCLUSIVE: William Shatner can sing! The Star Trek vet, 90, reveals he 'always wanted to be a crooner' as he works with Diane Warren on a song made famous by Reba McEntire
William Shatner of Star Trek fame wanted to be a singer before he stepped into acting.
But the 90-year-old thespian - who has been in the news these days for traveling into space for 10 minutes in October thanks to Jeff Bezos - felt he never really had the talent for it, he told DailyMail.com.
So he was thrilled when he was asked by Hollywood songwriter Diane Warren - a legend for creating hits like Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss A Thing and Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time - for the spoken word song Somehow You Do.
![He wanted to be a crooner: William Shatner of Star Trek fame wanted to be a singer before he stepped into acting with the iconic TV series Start Trek. Seen in the 1960s](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/17/14/51924373-10321433-image-a-8_1639753010060.jpg)
He wanted to be a crooner: William Shatner of Star Trek fame wanted to be a singer before he stepped into acting with the iconic TV series Start Trek. Seen in the 1960s
The song was first sung by Reba McEntire for the movie Four Good Days, starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis.
Diane approached Shatner about singing the Somehow You Do song for her when on his show.
'I had a feeling it was a good fit,' Diane told DailyMail.com. 'I had chills over this - '
Shatner- who was on the same DailyMail.com Zoom call with Warren - joked that maybe the AC was too high in his studio.
After a chuckle she said, 'William came back from space and said everyone was going to be OK. It was a fit.'
![He had big fame: He became a massive star thanks to Star Trek; seen with Nichelle Nichols](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/17/14/51924347-10321433-image-a-5_1639752684888.jpg)
He had big fame: He became a massive star thanks to Star Trek; seen with Nichelle Nichols
William said being in space made him think musically.
'When I came down from space I said let's write a song about space,' Shatner told DailyMail.com. 'There is an operetta about what I saw in space. And we have the lyrics. So I was already thinking about music.'
Diane then talked William's talents on the song: 'What William does is poetic, he puts heart and soul into it,' she told DailyMail.com. 'This message is deep for me, it needs to be heard.'
In the video for Shatner's spoken word song he wears a checked shirt as he softly and carefully reads the lyrics.
Shatner also shared that when he was young he wanted to be a singer, but felt he did not have the voice.
![She gave him his dream: So he was thrilled when he was asked by Hollywood songwriter Diane Warren - a legend for creating hits like Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss A Thing and Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time - for the spoken word song Somehow You Do. Seen in early December](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/17/15/51924395-10321433-image-m-9_1639754097085.jpg)
She gave him his dream: So he was thrilled when he was asked by Hollywood songwriter Diane Warren - a legend for creating hits like Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss A Thing and Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time - for the spoken word song Somehow You Do. Seen in early December
![The film: The song was first sung by Reba McEntire for the movie Four Good Days, starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis; Diane and Glenn seen in early December](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/17/15/51924403-10321433-The_film_The_song_was_first_sung_by_Reba_McEntire_for_the_movie_-m-10_1639754155149.jpg)
The film: The song was first sung by Reba McEntire for the movie Four Good Days, starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis; Diane and Glenn seen in early December
'My dad loved opera and so did I. I took music lessons as a child and played the guitar, I loved music,' he shared. 'That's my grounding in music.'
So he is more than happy to work with Diane now.
Diane shared to William on the Zoom call: 'You went into space, right, and you looked at the earth and you said everybody is going to be ok, and I felt that with the lyrics with this song because the planet is crazy right now and when you speak the words of my song it's comforting. And the way you speak, it feels like it is going to be ok.'
In the movie Four Good Days, Kunis plays Molly, an addict who has been in and out of rehab. She goes to her mother, played by Close, and asks for help. Diane was asked to write the song at the beginning of the pandemic. 'I remember watching the movie and it was harrowing,' she told Deadline.
As far as his trip to space, William told DailyMail.com he felt something different once above the atmosphere. 'I looked down on planet and felt like we needed to have hope,' said Shatner.
![Space man: William said being in space made him think musically. 'When I came down from space I said let's write a song about space,' Shatner told DailyMail.com. 'There is an operetta about what I saw in space. And we have the lyrics.' Seen in October](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/17/15/51924377-10321433-Space_man_William_said_being_in_space_made_him_think_musically_W-m-18_1639754546773.jpg)
Space man: William said being in space made him think musically. 'When I came down from space I said let's write a song about space,' Shatner told DailyMail.com. 'There is an operetta about what I saw in space. And we have the lyrics.' Seen in October
![The team: This undated photo made available by Blue Origin in October 2021 shows, from left, Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries. Their launch was Blue Origin's second passenger flight, using the same capsule and rocket that Jeff Bezos used for his own trip three months earlier](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/17/14/51924379-10321433-image-a-2_1639752654366.jpg)
The team: This undated photo made available by Blue Origin in October 2021 shows, from left, Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries. Their launch was Blue Origin's second passenger flight, using the same capsule and rocket that Jeff Bezos used for his own trip three months earlier
'We need to appreciate the beauty of the little blue planet to save it. And Jeff said to me, "William, We have to have hope. Without hope, what have we got?" I had a real appreciation of him for that,' William told DailyMail.com.
He also shared with DailyMail.com that he has taken pen to paper to share his deepest thoughts on the humanity.
'I am writing a new book,' he shared with DailyMail.com.
'It's all about the connectivity about all of us. Coincidence is the universe working in unison. Connectivity is party of the song.'
He has already written several books: Shatner is the author of nine Star Trek novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Ashes of Eden and The Return. He is also the author of several nonfiction books, including Get a Life! and I'm Working on That.
![There it goes: The New Shepard rocket launched on October 13, 2021, from the West Texas region, 25 miles (40kms) north of Van Horn](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/17/14/51924361-10321433-image-a-3_1639752660772.jpg)
There it goes: The New Shepard rocket launched on October 13, 2021, from the West Texas region, 25 miles (40kms) north of Van Horn
The man who played Captain Kirk on Star Trek added: 'There is scientific reason to believe that nothing is an accident.'
Shatner, 90, was the oldest person to reach space and explore what Amazon Prime 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, but went in October.
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