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Star Trek’s greatest actor makes surprise appearance on Masked Singer

Star Trek's most iconic, important actor made a shocking guest appearance on the US celebrity singing TV contest The Masked Singer.

The Masked Singer is known for taking world-famous celebrities, putting them under a mask, and making them sing in front of thousands of people with their identity a mystery. Nevertheless, it was still a huge surprise when, arguably, the greatest Star Trek captain was revealed to be taking part on the show.

That’s right: William Shatner, one of the biggest names in science fiction history, was on The Masked Singer. The actor is best known for his role as Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek sci-fi series, in addition to the Star Trek movies.

The actor was revealed, and took off his mask, after his performance in the first episode of season 8 of The Masked Singer. He performed his song, ‘Puttin’ On the Ritz’, while dressed as a knight riding – what looks like – some sort of duck.

Speaking in the aftermath of his elimination, Shatner said “Part of the fun of The Masked Singer is how awkward everybody feels. I heard somebody say they had a panic attack. And I was close to that myself, not being able to breathe.”

William Shatner in The Masked Singer

His appearance on The Masked Singer was a huge departure for the science fiction movie star. But, for those more familiar with Shatner’s antics, it won’t have come completely out of the blue. That’s because the actor, now 91, is known for his occasional bold, eye-catching exploits.

Only last year the actor became the oldest person to ever fly to in space, when he took part in the Blue Origin spaceflight mission. Of course, that adventure was linked to career as Captain Kirk, so his reveal on The Masked Singer was potentially even more of a surprise.

If science fiction makes your head spin, then why not check out our guides to the best fantasy series, and the best fantasy movies.