WILLIAM SHATNER

After years of playing Captain James T. Kirk on the hit sci-fi series, his divorce from first wife Gloria Rand cost him dear and left him homeless.

He tells Details magazine, "It was the early 1970s and I was recently divorced. I had three kids and was totally broke.

"I managed to find work back east on the straw-hat circuit (low-paying theatre productions), but couldn't afford hotels, so I lived out of the back of my truck, under a hard shell.

"It had a little stove, a toilet, and I'd drive from theatre to theatre.

"The only comfort came from my dog, who sat in the passenger seat and gave me perspective on everything. Otherwise, it would have just been me counting my losses."

Shatner eventually landed a series of TV guest spots before his fortunes took a turn for the better in 1973 when Star Trek returned to TV and helped make the actor a household name.

Source: WENN