🇨🇦DF Chant

I auditioned for William Shatner and got the role of Captain Klaa in Star Trek V. Here’s how it happened. Beach party in Malibu. I’m playing ping-pong when a guy walks up and asks if I’m an actor. “Yes.” “Are you good?” “Yeah… I think I am.” He says he’s a casting director looking for someone for a movie and wants me to audition. I had no idea it was Star Trek. I thanked him, gave him my agent’s info, and went back to the game. That guy was Bill Shepard. A few days later I’m at Paramount for the audition. Bill likes what I do and asks me back for the final callback. A week later I’m in a waiting room full of other actors—some very recognizable. I’m not intimidated. I know this role is mine. I can feel it. I wait until I’m the last one left. I walk into the next room and there’s William Shatner, along with several producers. Camera’s rolling. Bill Shepard reads the other parts. I’ve got the sides memorized. I nail it. Shatner smiles and says, “Todd, you are a wonderful actor.” I’m thinking… wow. Then he says, “Now can you do it again?” I’m ready for direction. He wants the whole thing in Klingon. I say, “You got it… but how do Klingons talk? I don’t know the language.” He rattles off a few lines of gibberish. I immediately fire back with similar-sounding gibberish. “That’s it! Great! Now let’s do it again.” I ask if I can use the sides for reference. He says of course. We run it again—me speaking full Klingon-sounding gibberish, same intentions, same intensity. Shatner calls “Cut!” and says again, “Todd, you are a wonderful actor!” The room feels electric. As I’m leaving, producer Harve Bennett stops me at the door. “Hey Todd. Do you know the word for success in Klingon?” “Tell me.” “Qapla’!” I slam a fist to my chest and fire it right back: “Qapla’!” Everyone’s in good spirits. I walk out with a strong feeling. Two days later my manager calls: “You got the Star Trek role.” Captain Klaa. (Side note: A few years earlier I played an engineering cadet in The Wrath of Khan and worked with Shatner every day for about a month. He didn’t recognize me at the audition. I’d been in the gym a lot and was a few years older. During breaks on that set I used to sneak onto the bridge when nobody was around and sit in the captain’s chair. Just imagining.) Qapla’! 🖖