Shatner may eye Canada prime minister role

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Actor William Shatner, possibly following the footsteps of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronald Reagan, said he might consider running for Canadian prime minister.

The 77-year-old Emmy Award-winner, best known as Capt. James T. Kirk on "Star Trek," made a comment in response to a fan letter urging him to become Canada's governor general, representing Queen Elizabeth II, who is officially the head of state.

"I must, with deepest thanks, turn down your honorable intent to advance me as Governor General," Shatner, a native of Montreal, wrote. "Besides which, I don't have time to be Governor General," he wrote. "My intention is to be Prime Minister of Canada, not Governor General, which is mainly a ceremonial position."

The current governor general, Michaelle Jean, greeted U.S. President Barack Obama at the airport when he visited Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa last Thursday.

"As Prime Minister I can lead Canada into even greater exploits," online Dose magazine quoted Shatner's letter as saying.

Neither Shatner nor Harper had any immediate comment on the report.

The actor won his first Emmy Award for his role as Denny Crane on "The Practice" in 2004. He won a second Emmy in 2005 and Golden Globe Awards in 2006 and 2007 for his Crane role in "The Practice" spinoff "Boston Legal."