He’s about to go where many men have gone before – the operating room.
William Shatner revealed that he shattered his right shoulder after falling off one of his horses late last year and must undergo surgery to repair the debilitating injury.
The “Star Trek” alum, who turns 95 later this month, opened up about the scary incident during the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films’ 53rd annual Saturn Awards in Burbank, Calif., on Sunday.
The original James T. Kirk explained his hospital drama and how he was scheduled to undergo surgery on March 11 after he accepted the Hall of Fame award on behalf of the “Star Trek” franchise.
After asking for a chair to speak with select media, Shatner shared that he was feeling “old, tired and kind of hurt.”
“I ride the horses that can compete in equine skills, which is fast down and ends on a sliding stop,” he explained. “And the horse that I owned, I came off.”
Shatner continued, “And she had a habit of going too far, like six inches to the side. And I’m riding it. And I’m ready. And she goes [too fast and sent him flying].”
Although the “Boston Legal” alum utilized his experience as a stuntman to lessen the impact, he still got seriously injured during the incident.
“I’m not a young stuntman anymore. I started to roll, but hit the dirt with my shoulder. So I wrecked my shoulder.”
Shatner said he was scheduled to undergo a “new type of shoulder operation called a reverse something or other” on Wednesday.
“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 in an attempt to describe the surgery. “So that’s what I am meandering towards.”
This wouldn’t be the first time the Hollywood legend has suffered a health scare in recent months.
Back in September, it was reported that Shatner suffered a mysterious medical emergency at his Los Angeles home.
Although the “Practice” star didn’t explain what happened, TMZ reported that it was an issue regarding his blood sugar.
“I over indulged. I thank you all for caring but I’m perfectly fine,” Shatner tweeted alongside a meme about his “greatly exaggerated … demise” at the time.
Meanwhile, Shatner received a standing ovation from the star-studded audience at the Saturn Awards Sunday.
In his speech, Shatner detailed how the original “Star Trek” series succeeded because “good or great science fiction is about human beings.”
The “T.J. Hooker” actor also explained why making non-human characters display key human traits appeals to audiences.
“You know what everyone tried to do, including myself, was to make the character human with all frailties and ambitions and fears,” he told the audience.
“At the same time, in a leadership role, you can’t show that, or if you show it, it has to be done in a particular way,” Shatner continued. “So that you’re a leader trying to lead people into battle or into danger, and you have to motivate people in some way.”
Meanwhile, Shatner also shared that he still hasn’t watched all of the original “Star Trek” episodes he appeared in.
“I haven’t seen all my 79 episodes. I just don’t have the time,” he said. “I’d like to see it, but I don’t have the time.”
Elsewhere during the Saturn Awards, “Avatar” creator James Cameron noted how genres like sci-fi, fantasy and horror are often overlooked by awards ceremonies – including the Oscars.
“They dismiss us, and yet consistently, over time, of the top 20 movies in history, or the top 20 films of the past 10 years, they are our films,” the “Titanic” filmmaker charged. “Sci-fi, fantasy, horror. We make the films that put people in the theaters and keep the theaters open.”
Cameron, 71, won this year’s Saturn Awards for best science fiction film, best film direction and best film screenwriting for “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
Tom Cruise, who was also at the ceremony, won the Saturn Award for best actor in a film for “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”
Cruise, 63, celebrated Shatner’s contribution to the sci-fi genre in his acceptance speech.
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