Sir Patrick Stewart is a prolific actor with decades of acting experience in front of the camera. Over the years, the legendary actor has portrayed a number of popular roles, such as Professor X in the X-Men franchise, Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, Gurney Halleck in Dune (1984), and many more. However, his most iconic role would be that of Jean-Luc Picard in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek franchise.
The role is not too far away from the legendary actor, as he played the character for seven long seasons in Star Trek: The Next Generation, from 1987 to 1994. Later, he reprised his role in four films, eventually returning to it for three more seasons in Star Trek: Picard.
However, the Green Room actor was filled with remorse while playing his role in the 1987 series. This was because he was embarrassed by his actions while filming the sci-fi series in its debut season.
Sir Patrick Stewart Ashamed Jean-Luc Picard on The Set of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek series took off in 1966, featuring a star-studded cast that established the sci-fi franchise as one of the most successful series, that became a direct rival to George Lucas’ Star Wars.
Though Star Trek: The New Generation became extremely successful, it was initially deemed to be a failure. However, it was Sir Patrick Stewart’s portrayal of Jean-Luc Picard that would save the series from doom. Picard was a character known for his ethics; in the series, he was a very welcoming character with a strong moral compass, always teaching good values.
Industry insiders predicted that the series was destined to fail, but the Logan actor was adamant about proving everyone wrong. While writing in his autobiography, Making It So: A Memoir, via The Hollywood Reporter, he mentioned that during the debut season, his co-stars would be extremely relaxed and would often tease him or laugh when they messed up their dialogues.
Stewart was frequently enraged by this, and he would walk off the set, often holding meetings to discuss his co-stars’ behavior. He wrote,
I could be a severe b**tard. My experiences at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre had been intense and serious … On the TNG set, I grew angry with the conduct of my peers, and that’s when I called that meeting in which I lectured the cast for goofing off and responded to Denise Crosby’s, ‘We’ve got to have some fun sometimes, Patrick’ comment by saying, ‘We are not here, Denise, to have fun.’
He continued that he did not handle the situation like his character would have. Though everyone would laugh about this incident, he was ashamed to acknowledge that he did not “handle it well.” He wrote,
In retrospect, everyone, me included, finds this story hilarious. But in the moment, when the cast erupted in hysterics at my pompous declaration, I didn’t handle it well. I didn’t enjoy being laughed at. I stormed off the set and into my trailer, slamming the door.
Even though the veteran actor has embodied the role of Jean-Luc Picard, his actions back then on the set were embarrassing, and it would have made his character disappointed in him.
Sir Patrick Stewart Refused To Attend Star Trek Convention At The Height of His Fame
Sir Patrick Stewart became an international icon, gaining a massive fan base. While most actors have a hard time accepting the fame and stardom from their roles, the veteran actor found the best possible way to cope with it.
While talking to The Guardian, Stewart mentioned that he just “refused to acknowledge it” in his debut season. He stated that he declined the invitation to conventions because he was not trying to make a name for himself, but wanted the show to have a stronger impact on its viewers. He said,
It’s not that I found it difficult. I just initially refused to acknowledge it. Throughout the first season of The Next Generation, I was continually getting these invitations to attend something called ‘conventions’.
And my reaction was no because that had nothing to do with what I was trying to achieve: I wanted the show to have an impact on screen, not me standing on a platform talking about it.
Nevertheless, when he decided to accept the invitation once in Denver, 3000 fans of the show attended it. As a result, the actor decided to make limited appearances every season.
Star Trek: The Next Generation can be streamed on Paramount+
