Movies

George Takei on social media, William Shatner and what it takes ‘To Be Takei’

Septuagenarians don’t come much hipper than George Takei.

At 77, he’s spent the past years increasing his cool cred with spots on shows such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “Archer.” He’s a frequent Howard Stern guest, has more than 7 million Facebook fans and is eager to see Richard Linklater’s hot new movie, “Boyhood.”

But there’s one thing the young’uns love that he can’t get on board with: pop music.

George Takei in a scene from “To Be Takei” Starz Digital Media

When asked by The Post for his favorite song on the radio right now, he replied, “I’m afraid I can’t accommodate you on that,” adding with a laugh, “I put on the classical musical station.”

George Takei attends the 18th Annual Webby Awards.Getty Images

Forgive him that — George Takei is still not your average old-timer.

As this Friday’s new documentary “To Be Takei” reveals, the former “Star Trek” star has a whole lot of life in him. The unfiltered film traces Takei’s resurgence over the past decade as he’s become a voice for social justice, as well as an unlikely source of social media distraction.

“So many actors who have documentaries done, it’s essentially a vanity project, and I didn’t want it to be that,” says Takei. “So from the outset, I told [the director,] ‘You have carte blanche, and I’m not going to insist on final cut approval.’ ”

His resulting film doesn’t shy away from the tough questions, while also illuminating Takei’s unconventional life.

The so-called renaissance began when Takei, at 68, took the major step of coming out as gay after decades of staying in the closet to protect his career. He felt the 1955 revelation of movie star Tab Hunter’s sexuality decimated the star’s Hollywood stature, and he feared the same would happen to him.

But when Takei, who lives in LA and has an apartment in New York, finally revealed he was gay, and later married his partner, Brad, in 2008, the very opposite happened. He was suddenly back in the spotlight.

“I had been prepared for a nice, quiet, relaxing retirement,” he says. “But [my career] has blossomed.”

In addition to advocacy work for LGBT rights — he’s currently pushing to get the Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed — Takei’s comeback has been partly due to his embrace of social media.

Started as a way to promote “Allegiance,” his musical about Japanese-American internment camps during World War II that he plans to bring to Broadway this fall, his Facebook feed is now a haven of witticisms and Tumblr-esque photos.

“By trial and error, I discovered that it was the humorous things that got the most likes and shares, so I started focusing on that and it grew astoundingly fast,” he says, noting that it’s a myth that people his age don’t know how to turn computers on.

William Shatner shows an image of George Takei from the “Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner” during his one-man show, “Shatner’s World: We Just Live In It.”Getty Images

“My generation isn’t as Ludditic as people think,” he says, with a laugh.

Also keeping Takei in the headlines?

His ongoing feud with co-star William Shatner, who has slammed Takei in the press, as well as on his YouTube channel. Takei refers to him as the “crazy uncle” of the “Star Trek” family.

“It’s not a feud. I just state the facts as they are,” says Takei.

“He made this great big to-do about not getting an invitation to our wedding, two months after our wedding. We did send him an invitation, [so] we were absolutely baffled. If he wanted to come that badly, if something happened in the mail and he didn’t get it, he should have called us before the wedding. But what’s the point of making a fuss two months later? Well, as it turned out, we were driving down Sunset Boulevard and we saw a great big billboard advertising William Shatner’s new talk show, ‘Raw Nerve.’ And I said, ‘That’s the reason why.’ A little controversy always gets you more attention.”

So will the two ever find peace?

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m open. I don’t know why he has to continue to go on YouTube — in the last one he said something about me suffering from psychosis,” he says, laughing. “I’m more amused than anything.”