William Shatner doesn't regret missing Leonard Nimoy's funeral

William Shatner has no regrets over skipping his Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy's funeral.

The 91-year-old sparked controversy when he decided to keep his prior commitment to attend a Red Cross fundraising event in Florida instead of going to his co-star's funeral in Los Angeles in March 2015.

During an interview with Variety, Shatner was asked about the backlash and if he regretted not attending the service.

"Who cares? I know what I did was right," he replied. "So it doesn't matter. We're criticised when we lift a finger. I don't read that stuff. I try to not indulge in the evil that's out there."

Nimoy, who played Spock to Shatner's Captain Kirk in Star Trek, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the age of 83. Around 300 people attended his funeral service, including J.J. Abrams, Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine of the new Star Trek films and Shatner's daughters.

The actor also recalled how he spoke to the audience at the Florida fundraiser about his legacy.

"I chose to keep my promise and go to Mar-a-Lago instead of the funeral, and I said to the audience, 'People ask about a legacy. There's no legacy. Statues are torn down. Graveyards are ransacked. Headstones are knocked over. No one remembers anyone. Who remembers Danny Kaye or Cary Grant? They were great stars. But they're gone and no one cares.' But what does live on are good deeds. If you do a good deed, it reverberates to the end of time," he remembered.

Elsewhere in the interview, Shatner explained that he agreed to make his documentary, You Can Call Me Bill, due to his advancing age.

"I've turned down a lot of offers to do documentaries before. 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," he stated.