20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)

6. William Shatner Taught Leonard Nimoy Everything He Knew About Directing On The Set Of T.J. Hooker

Star Trek III Spock
CBS Media Ventures

William Shatner joked his way through most of the behind-the-scenes and interview footage for Star Trek III. In one particular story, he recounted how, after Nimoy had been hired as a director, his friend approached him while he was filming T.J. Hooker, the police procedural that Shatner was starring in at the time.

Nimoy helped to direct one set-piece in the show, which Shatner then joked led to any and all decisions that went into the direction of Star Trek III. There was quite a bit of crossover between T.J. Hooker and Star Trek III, as they were both scheduled to shoot very close to each other.

With his acerbic wit, Shatner bluntly stated on the documentary that, thanks to this moment in the show, he had taught Nimoy everything that he would come to know about directing.

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Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick