William Shatner talks new movie 'Senior Moment,' growing older, the #MeToo movement, and dealing with grief

In William Shatner's new film Senior Moment, he plays Victor Martin, an aging former racing car driver who loses his livelihood after getting in a car accident. Shatner recently spoke with Yahoo Entertainment about growing older himself (he just turned 90), playing a romantic lead (opposite Jean Smart) at his age, and doing his own driving in the movie.

"They knew from my days of driving in the [T.J. Hooker] police series I did that I was a little bit reckless, but in my philosophy, only the stuntman gets hurt," Shatner said.

"So [the technicians] hovered over me with this car and I didn't hurt the car and I didn't hurt myself," Shatner said.

Watch more from Shatner in the above video.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JEAN SMART: Right now I'm trying to figure out this app.

WILLIAM SHATNER: Can't help you there. I'm still working on SnapShot.

ETHAN ALTER: Tell me about being a romantic leading man at 89. What's the fun in that? Like playing an on-screen romance?

WILLIAM SHATNER: So the essence of this film is this. There is a racing car driver who's now gotten older and is-- piddles around Palm Springs in his beloved Porsche. And he gets into an accident and his license is taken away from him.

Now you take this guy's license away from him, that's his ability to move. But it's also his youth. You've taken his life away from him.

So after the film was over and I was thinking about it, you know, and the things I looked for in that-- I thought, wait a minute. I get to kiss the girl. How does an older guy kiss a girl? Well, I grabbed her and I kissed her, OK? Like-- like a leading man.

How do I do that again? I could have fiddled with it, you know, and I didn't do it, and if I had to do it, I would ask-- let's reshoot this. Let's go back to Palm Springs and reshoot this moment. I'll get a big laugh. I didn't do it.

ETHAN ALTER: You've talked about before-- about the differences now between how men and women relate to each other, especially in the MeToo era. Is-- are there things that you've learned now looking back on the way relationships and romances happen?

WILLIAM SHATNER: Oh, it's-- they're-- the MeToo movement is-- has caught a lot of people over 30 by surprise. Like-- I didn't know I was doing that, you know? I see-- I'm thinking about New York and-- and the governor.

I don't know anything about it, but if he said, you know, I like you. You are-- and he is doing something in a familiar way that didn't belong there. I don't know about the governor, but people of a certain age took a certain freedom, and it wasn't thinking sexually. It was just a familiarity that doesn't ex-- doesn't exist in the moment.

ETHAN ALTER: Is that something that you and Jean Smart talked about on set, how to play this-- this romance? Or was it a different generation romance in your mind?

WILLIAM SHATNER: It was just-- you know, I don't remember, but I'm sure I said to Jean in the morning, "God, Jean, you look beautiful." I wasn't harassing her. I was-- I was being complimentary. Every bit as much as said-- you know, I like that shirt. It-- it's-- the rules are different, and we need to learn the rules.

JEAN SMART: What's a man like you still doing chasing younger women?

WILLIAM SHATNER: You meet a man my age.

ETHAN ALTER: You've also said goodbye to people in your life. You've lost people, we're obviously dealing right now in this country with a lot of loss and a lot of people-- what advice do you give to people when they're grieving? How-- how have you talked to people about grief and dealing with that?

WILLIAM SHATNER: There's a reason why a lot of people think that the spirit of the-- of the-- the beloved is still with you two, three months, and then the shock wears off and-- and now you're in another phase of grief and denial and appeal and-- denial-- whatever it is-- and anger. The seven stages of grief. And finally, the final stage of grief is acceptance. And-- and there is that. There is acceptance, that-- that person is gone as much as you loved them.

- Failure to use your turn signal, you get a ticket. Driving too slow, ticket. You know how it is? Pick your friends, pick your nose. But you can't pick your friend's nose.

WILLIAM SHATNER: What?

- Promise me, Victor. No more shenanigans.

ETHAN ALTER: How much fun were the-- were the driving sequences to do? Did-- did-- did-- did-- did you get behind the car from-- for all those?

WILLIAM SHATNER: They hovered over me, the technicians. Because I had learned to drive with a stick shift, and this old Porsche had a stick shift. But I was-- I wanted to drive it. I wanted to see what these old Porsches were like-- where their balance was.

So they-- they knew from my days of driving in the police series I did that I was a little bit reckless. In my philosophy, only the stuntman gets hurt. Deep inside my mind is-- nothing happens to me. It's the stunt guy that says, "Oh, God, I hurt myself. Got to go to the hospital."

Shame. So they hovered over me with this car. And I didn't hurt the car, and I didn't hurt myself

ETHAN ALTER: I-- I don't think you'll ever hurt yourself. I think you're indestructible. It's-- Joe, you're good to go.

WILLIAM SHATNER: I'd like to think that. Oh. Oh. Ow.