William Shatner reflects on his new film, 'Star Trek,' space travel and not attending Leonard Nimoy's funeral

By any standard of measurement, William Shatner has led a wonderful life.

The 91-year old actor who gained fame by gallivanting around the galaxy as Captain James T. Kirk in "Star Trek" for three decades chronicles it all in the new documentary "You Can Call Me Bill," which premiered March 16 at the SXSW festival.

Produced by XYZ Films and directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, this revealing portrait has Shatner musing about mortality, nature, space travel and more. It covers the span of his prolific career, from early days aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise on TV and in feature films, and his popular small screen runs with series like "T.J. Hooker" and "Boston Legal."

On the eve of the documentary's world premiere in Austin, Texas, Variety connected with Shatner to learn more about his take on life and death, his legacy, Leonard Nimoy's funeral, a favorite role and rocketing to space with Jeff Bezos' spaceflight company, Blue Origin.

Related: William Shatner launches to space on Blue Origin's New Shepard (photos)

Here are select excerpts from that recent Variety interview:

"I've turned down a lot of offers to do documentaries before," when asked about his reasons for making the documentary. "But I don’t have long to live. Whether I keel over as I'm speaking to you or 10 years from now, my time is limited, so that's very much a factor. I've got grandchildren. This documentary is a way of reaching out after I die."

"Time and time again, I've come across some interesting thought or idea," Shatner said regarding any new insights gleaned from the new film's creation. "That can be because of a thoughtful interviewer sparking something in me. In the movie, I didn't just want to go on about 'I did this or that when I was 7' or 'this is my favorite color.' I'm trying to discover something I've never said before or to find a way to say something I've said before in a different way, so I can explore that truth further.

"The sad thing is that the older a person gets the wiser they become, and then they die with all that knowledge. And it's gone. It's not like I'm going to take my ideas or my clothing with me. Today, there's a person going through some of my clothes in order to donate or sell them, because what am I going to do with all these suits that I've got? What am I going to do with all these thoughts? What am I going to do with 90 years of observations? The moths of extinction will eat my brain as they will my clothing, and it will all disappear."

"When Leonard Nimoy died a few years ago, his funeral was on a Sunday," Shatner recalled when his controversial absence from the ceremony is brought up. "His death was very sudden, and I had obligated myself to go to Mar-a-Lago for a Red Cross fundraiser. I was one of the celebrities raising money.