Forgive me if this has been asked before, but just what color is Kirk's hair supposed to be on the show? It appears basically dirty blond in the early episodes (though some people, depending on where they are from and their own complexion and hair color may call this brown), and gets darker as the series wears on. Shatner then seems to adopt a much darker hair color after Star Trek. I notice on the HD versions, his hair appears even blonder.
So . . . What Color is Kirk's Hair Exactly?
- Thread starter Gassy Man
- Start date
The Season 3 Kirk hair looks much darker to me as well.
Somehow that Season 3 hair also makes him look a lot older, too.
Somehow that Season 3 hair also makes him look a lot older, too.
That season the hairpiece was a better color match for his real hair, not the two-tone look of previous years.
I wish Shatner had approached the ST movies like a character actor rather than the star with lots of power. He would have adjusted his appearance to give Kirk hair that was plausible from a continuity standpoint, a vanity standpoint, and an age standpoint. As it played out, movie Kirk looked more like a vain civilian than a military man.
At the time he was cast in TOS, Shatner was successful as a "leading man type," not so much a character actor.
A lot of actors still start out that way, and if they're lucky and have the chops they can move into a "character" type as they age. Not to say that Shatner doesn't have the chops, but he never really had to embrace it.
And very greasy looking it was too!
JB
JB
True. I'm just wishing that Shatner in particular and the TOS cast in general had had a little touch of Dustin Hoffman's approach in Tootsie. Not the cross-dressing thing, but the actor who is super-dedicated to his craft and wants to become a character rather than force every character to be himself.
While I'm far from a Robert De Niro expert, I think he became famous in the 1970s by pouring himself the craft and almost disappearing into a role.
The ST films could have benefited from actors who were more dedicated and hard-working, and less vain and superficial. [And in the supporting cast, less rusty. It got to the point where some of them didn't need rehearsal, they needed lessons.]
I agree that Shatner looked more unkempt in the third season, but that may have just been the look of the late '60's and '70's. James Doohann had a longer hairstyle and the long sideburns the latter half of the third season which also was the style of that period. Shatner was also a lot heavier the third season which made him look older as well.
Men's hairstyles were getting longer by the late 60s, and traditional union barbers in those days usually cut hair short, unless you could afford going to a salon. A haircut at a regular barber shop was about $2.00 as I remember.
Shatner was also going through some rough personal problems in the 3rd season, as his marriage was falling apart, so his face and body were probably showing the stress.
Shatner was also going through some rough personal problems in the 3rd season, as his marriage was falling apart, so his face and body were probably showing the stress.
Yeah, he was badly in need of a shapeup from time to time.
Not everyone wants to be a method actor, or whatever. The "leading man" type was not only the preferred concept at the time but has resulted in dozens of truly great actors. What's interesting is that many who employed the other school of acting when they were young have essentially reverted the "leading man" type today. DeNiro, Hoffman, and others have essentially played every part they've been in for the past 10-15 years the same.
Couldn't have happened. Aside from the popular conception of just what a leading man was supposed to be, Shatner was far too image-conscious (arguably vain) to do that. In The Deadly Years, he warned the make-up men not to make him look too old (though, surprisingly, he did take off his toupee for that one).
As for movie Kirk, I dunno. I guess I've gotten used to his various looks.
Whoa. Amazing how little his face had really changed.
Cool!!
