William Shatner brings laughs to Saskatoon Comic Expo

Before he’d even said a word, William Shatner received a standing ovation as he walked on stage at the Saskatoon Comic and Entertainment Expo this weekend.

It was standing room only as the 84-year-old actor took the microphone, and with a coy smile delved into a story about his  trip from Columbus to Saskatoon.

“I’m a Canadian so I can find fault with AirCanada,” he said to a roar of laughter, which continued throughout his story-laden talk and Q&A.

Shatner, best known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek, gave an hour-long presentation to the audience.

The spunky speaker verbally poked audience members who hurriedly lined up to ask him questions. At one point an audience member said he was nervous. “Well of course you are,” Shatner replied.

Another didn’t even get to finish his question of “who would win in a fight” before Shatner belted “I would!” The question was later revealed to be who would win between Captain Kirk and Star Wars’ Hans Solo.

“Captain Kirk has esoteric fighting skills that haven’t even been invented yet,” Shatner said.

He also reflected on his time working with friend and fellow actor, the late Leonard Nemoy.

Not all questions revolved around the actor’s bold career as captain of the starship Enterprise. Fans praised him for his work on Boston Legal, TekWars, and even for his appearances on the Howard Stern radio show.

When an audience member presented an old flip-style cell phone and said he shared the actor’s dislike of phone invasion, Shatner took the phone and flipped it open in a salute to the Star Trek communications.

Shatner was one of several big-name headliners at the annual comic convention including the Lord of the Rings’ Billy Boyd, Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito, Mario’s voice Charles Martinet and Tricia Helfer of Battlestar Galactica.