Before he became known to a generation of fans as Professor X in the X-Men films, Sir Patrick Stewart achieved global stardom for his role as Captain Picard in Star Trek: TNG. The spinoff show was a follow-up to the original Star Trek series and came almost twenty years after the original.
While the show became a global phenomenon and took Stewart from relative obscurity to stardom, his selection was not approved by the show’s creator. According to Stewart, creator Gene Roddenberry hated Stewart’s casting. The X-Men star mentioned that he would sometimes catch Roddenberry on set giving him a disappointed look.
Patrick Stewart Was Not Approved By Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry
When Patrick Stewart was cast as Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he was reportedly not sure if the show would last as long as it did. The actor was known for his stage work and was doing a reading at UCLA when he was spotted by producer Rick Berman.
While Stewart was not particularly interested in a sci-fi series, the show’s creator Gene Roddenberry reportedly showed equal disinterest in casting him. The X-Men star mentioned that the first meeting with Roddenberry after he was spotted at UCLA lasted barely six minutes.
The actor also mentioned that Roddenberry was not happy with Stewart’s look and nationality for the Horatio Hornblower-esque character he had developed. Stewart said to THR,
My meeting lasted about six minutes, and then it was perfectly clear I was not wanted in that room any time longer. It was Gene who said, ‘What the hell? I don’t want a bald, middle-aged Englishman.’
There was a faction who was very enthusiastic, but Gene used to come on the set once a week — maybe twice, it depends on who the cast were— and I would catch him looking at me with an expression on his face which said, ‘What the f*ck is this guy doing in my show?
The actor also mentioned that a note from Roddenberry which demanded that Patrick Stewart’s name never be mentioned to him again could be found in the cellars of Paramount.
Patrick Stewart Was Not Aware Of How Big Star Trek: TNG Became
When Star Trek: TNG was commissioned by Paramount, the original series had only seen a cult following and not the global stardom the successor enjoyed. The spinoff series lasted many more seasons and the actors gained international recognition while they were starring in the show as opposed to the small group that the original series enjoyed.
Patrick Stewart himself was reportedly unaware of how big the show was until much later and mentioned that the entire cast was working so hard at the time that they were unable to even gauge how important the show had become. He said to BBC,
It was a long time before any of us realized that we were very slowly becoming well-known as actors. That was a very, very slow process, largely brought about by the fact that we were too busy working to lift up our heads and pay attention to what was happening. We knew that the series was doing well, but it really wasn’t until the first season ended that I went to my first Star Trek convention.
The actor also mentioned, that had he known that the show would last seven seasons, he would never have accepted the role of Captain Picard, which probably would have made Gene Roddenberry happy.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+.
