Malcolm McDowell Received Death Threats from Angry Trekkies

Set your phasers on crazy. I understand Captain Kirk is a beloved fictional character, but this is downright scary. Star Trek fans are some of the most loyal and knowledgeable fans in the fandom community, but for a few, their love and loyalty transformed into an ugly hate.

In the movie Star Trek: Generations the actor, Macolm McDowell played the villain Dr. Soran. His evil plot is undone by the epic pairing of Captain Picard and Kirk. They team up to battle the lunatic on Veridian III. During the confrontation Kirk falls from a metal catwalk, suffering fatal injuries. Not the most heroic death for such a legendary character, and that is probably the seed of the hatred from the fans who expected something more grandiose.

A. “Oh, dear old Captain Kirk! It was the early days of the Internet. Yes, it's true. But I've made my peace with the trekkies. I've been to a trekkie convention. I told them, ‘Go on, if you want to rip me apart! Go ahead!' We had jeers and cheers and had some fun with it.

“Hey, it freed (William) Shatner up to do ‘Boston Legal.' But I think he was miffed when the reboot came out (2009's ‘Star Trek'). They asked Leonard Nimoy to be in it, but not Bill. I think he was a little upset by that. That's what I heard.”

A. “Yes! That was his M.O. I was too young to understand. I thought it was just rejection. Which it was, but it wasn't personal.

“I was very, very upset. I felt I had been used. He'd gotten everything he wanted out of me and now I couldn't get a return of a phone call.

“After working so closely with Stanley and going through hell and high water to get this incredible film and that performance which is practically in every frame of the film — then, being cut off and hearing nothing? Very bizarre.”