William Shatner (1931–), born in Montreal, Canada, and known around the world as Captain James Tiberius Kirk, celebrates his birthday today.

As Star Trek’s original leader, he began his “five-year mission” in September 1966 and is still going strong through syndication, streaming, and the enduring affection of generations of fans.

“I’d just like to say, ‘Get a life, will you, people?!’” Shatner joked in a classic Saturday Night Live spoof that poked fun at convention mania. “It’s just a television show!”

In 1999, Shatner wrote the autobiographical Get a Life! as a tribute to his devoted Trekker and Trekkie fans. With self-deprecating humor, he confessed to a fear of flying and credited comic Kevin Pollak with doing the best Kirk imitation.

Shatner also revealed that those dramatic pauses in Kirk’s irrepressible speeches often came from trying to remember his next line.

Writer Ernest Hemingway once observed, “As you get older, it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.”

Over the years, the adventures of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek and the character of Captain Kirk have grown into something larger than television. The popularity of the series rests on a blend of science, drama, and heroic myth.

Shatner, as well as Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), became international stars and cultural icons.

“I think there is a need for the culture to have a myth, like the Greeks had. We don’t have any. So I think people look to Star Trek to set up a leader and a hearty band of followers. It’s Greek classical storytelling,” Shatner explained to Time magazine in 1994. “All I wanted to do was come up with a good character.”

In the end, Shatner’s appeal has never been perfection, but the bold, human way he keeps showing up as himself.