Why William Shatner Turned Down ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Appearance

The Big Bang Theory just began its 10th season last month, and over that decade there have been countless guest stars including Carrie Fisher, Elon Musk, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Adam West, Bill Nye, Bob Newhart, James Earl Jones, Stan Lee and more. Also, a batch of former Star Trek cast members have appeared over the years including Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, George Takei and Wil Wheaton. But one big kahuna hasn’t appeared on the show yet: The Priceline Negotiator.

William Shatner is best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series as well as the film franchise that reunited the show’s cast on the big screen. Even though the actor has made various guest appearances and cameos in plenty of TV shows and movies over the years, he’s yet to make a stop by The Big Bang Theory. So why hasn’t the show brought Captain Kirk into the fray yet? Well, it’s because he turned them down. Find out why after the jump.

William Shatner turned down The Big Bang Theory guest appearance because he wasn’t happy with how it was written initially. Speaking to Digital Spy recently, Shatner explained what happened the last time there were discussions on the matter:

I’ve had several conversations with the creators, and what they wanted me to do, didn’t seem to be exactly right, so I said ‘find something that’s better’. They may have taken umbrage at that, I’m not sure. They wanted me to play myself a little obliquely, and they said it would work out, but I needed more assurance on that.