Q+A William Shatner

The actor and show horse breeder stars on ABC's Boston Legal.

SI: As far as Canadian exports go, has America benefited more from you or Wayne Gretzky?

Shatner: Actually, more from Labatt's beer.

SI: With things like pilates and other advancements in physical fitness, how much better would T.J. Hooker have been as a crime fighter in 2004?

Shatner: The whole thing about pilates is bending, and T.J. Hooker would bend for no one. Especially forward.

SI: You and your wife, Elizabeth, breed and show American saddlebreds and quarter horses, and you and Joe Jackson rock out in a duet on your new album, Has Been. What effect would your music have on your horses?

Shatner: You want to make sure that the saddlebred is in the full flower of wildness. So I think Joe Jackson's music would make a high-stepping horse step even higher.

SI: For workout music, should I opt for your version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds or Mr. Tambourine Man?

Shatner: I would go with Frank Sinatra and simply lie down.

SI: You took tennis lessons for 20 years from Nels Van Patten, whose father is Dick Van Patten. What's it like being taught tennis by a Van Patten?

Shatner: It's not so much being taught to play tennis by a Van Patten. It's playing Dick Van Patten that is really objectionable. He lobs everything, and it drives you nuts.

SI: Would a magazine called Shatner Illustrated do well?

Shatner: It depends on what it illustrates.

SI: You just won an Emmy, and your new album is getting rave reviews. Is it safe to say you are the hottest 73-yearold man on the planet?

Shatner: Ignoring the possibility of this being an obituary, it's possible that I am.

--Richard Deitsch

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ROBERT TRACHTENBERG/ABC (SHATNER)

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GREGG DEGUIRE/WIREIMAGE.COM (SHATNER ON HORSE)