William Shatner's Favorite Cheese Is A Classic Italian Wedge

He ascended to nerd Valhalla by playing Captain James T. Kirk in the original "Star Trek." He won two Emmy Awards for "The Practice" and "Boston Legal." He went to space, then had an existential crisis in front of Jeff Bezos upon landing back on Earth. Suffice it to say that William Shatner has led an interesting life over his 95 years. (Yes, he's 95. We're as surprised as you are.) But his passions go far beyond acting, online travel agencies, and bizarre spoken-word music. He also has a taste for cheese — especially Parmigiano-Reggiano, a well-loved Italian export.

In 2013, Shatner was interviewed by Cheese Connoisseur, a magazine devoted to fine cheeses, and was invited to cut open a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. After speaking at length on a number of topics, including his series of "Brown Bag Wine Tastings" (in which he blind-tasted various cheap and expensive wines), he declared that Parmigiano-Reggiano was his favorite kind of cheese, calling it "the secret to youth." A behind-the-scenes video shows Shatner learning the basics about the cheese from cheesemonger Bryan Bergmann, occasionally interrupting to wax poetic in his trademark sonorous voice. "In the kingdom of Reggiano," he said, regarding the amino acid in the cheese that creates crunchy crystals, "you have [protein] crystals striving for freedom." Couldn't have said it better ourselves.

To a certain kind of cheese consumer (a connoisseur, if you will), Parmigiano-Reggiano needs no introduction. It's the nutty, crumbly, salty wonder that's so highly prized that only certain cheesemakers in various provinces of Italy can make it. The rest is sold as "parmesan," which explains why you're able to get your hands on something like it at the supermarket. It turns out that "Parmigiano-Reggiano" isn't just a fancy way of saying "parmesan," after all. And, for the health nuts among us, it's also an excellent source of protein and calcium, so maybe Shatner's claim that it's "the secret of youth" isn't entirely unfounded.

According to Shatner's interview with Cheese Connoisseur, he became interested in cheese and wine mostly out of curiosity for how tastes develop. "How do we acquire tastes for fine wine and smelly cheese?" he asked. "What cells are at work in the front, side, and back of the tongue?" With due respect to Jeff Bezos, his space company, and his in-home soft serve machine, that's exactly the sort of thing people with a lot of time and money should be doing.