William Shatner has reportedly undergone shoulder surgery to repair a debilitating injury he sustained late last year after falling from his horse.
Ahead of the procedure taking place on Wednesday, March 11, the Star Trek legend, who turns 95 later this month, described it as a “new type of shoulder operation called a reverse something or other.”
“You put the ball in the socket and the socket in the thing, and you come out 10 hours later, and you’re pain-free,” he said at Sunday’s 53rd annual Saturn Awards in Burbank, California, according to Page Six. “So that’s what I am meandering towards.”
Admitting that he was feeling “old, tired and kind of hurt,” the Boston Legal alum addressed the horseback-riding incident while accepting the Hall of Fame award for his work in the iconic sci-fi franchise.
“I ride the horses that can compete in equine skills, which is fast down and ends on a sliding stop — and the horse that I owned, I came off,” Shatner explained. He added that his horse “had a habit of going too far, like six inches to the side.”
“I’m not a young stuntman anymore,” he acknowledged. “I started to roll, but hit the dirt with my shoulder. So I wrecked my shoulder.”
The Independent has contacted Shatner’s representative for comment.
Months ago, Shatner was hospitalized after experiencing an issue with his blood sugar levels while at his home in Los Angeles in September 2025.
A source told TMZ that Shatner called emergency services, and a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance arrived on the scene as a precaution. Shatner was taken to a local hospital to get checked out, with the source saying the actor was good and resting comfortably.
The Captain James T. Kirk actor later spoke out, clarifying that the reports are “greatly exaggerated.”
“I overindulged. I thank you all for caring, but I’m perfectly fine. I keep telling you all: don’t trust tabloids or AI!” he wrote on X.
Shatner is best known for originating the character of Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series, which aired from 1966 to 1969. The Canadian actor later reprised the role on the animated series and the first seven films, including the 1989 film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. His other roles have included playing a beauty pageant MC in the 2000 Sandra Bullock comedy Miss Congeniality and starring as the title character on the 1980s police drama series TJ Hooker. He has also appeared in the legal drama series The Practice and its spin-off, Boston Legal.
He previously opened up about being diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer.
“I went and had [the lump] taken out. It was melanoma, stage 4,” Shatner said at a 2024 keynote presentation at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, per Healio. “I said, ‘Stage 4?’ And someone in the room said, ‘Sorry.’ I said, ‘What are you sorry about?’ It was like, ‘Better pack your things.’ That person who said ‘sorry,’ that was very sad, like you are going to die. And I was. They said if this [treatment] they used did not work, I had about 5 months.”
He successfully underwent treatment and is currently in remission.
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