William Shatner, the actor responsible for bringing Captain James T. Kirk to life, is afraid of flying.
Sir Richard Branson said that the legendary Star Trek actor was too afraid to boldly go where no man has gone before. Branson said that Shatner turned down a ride on the Virgin Galactic because he was afraid of flying.
Branson said : “He actually said he’s frightened of airline travel — which is slightly disillusioning. Captain Kirk is scared of flying.”
Are you surprised that William Shatner is afraid of flying?
Shatner didn’t deny Branson’s claim but it may not be the whole truth. The actor said that the real reason he turned down Branson’s offer is because he didn’t want to pay $200,000 for a ticket.
Shatner said : ”He wanted me to go up and pay for it and I said, ‘Hey, you pay me and I’ll go. I’ll risk my life for a large sum of money’. But he didn’t pick me up on my offer.”
Branson has already booked celebrities like Ashton Kutcher , Mila Kunis and Leonardo DiCaprio and according to the Virgin Galactic CEO everyone of the celebrities paid for their tickets.
Branson said: ”We have a policy that, however famous people are, they won’t get upgrades or freebies.”
The Virgin Galactic will take its passengers 62 miles above the earth, which is the internationally recognized boundary of outer space. Passengers will experience weightlessness before returning to earth. Needless to say, that isn’t your typical flight.
William Shatner probably isn’t afraid of flying but he may be afraid of riding a relatively new aircraft into the great beyond.