Star Trek: Picard was the last time fans of the franchise saw Patrick Stewart took on the role of Jean-Luc Picard. The series also saw the return of Brent Spiner as the beloved Data, a character he first played way back in 1987 for The Next Generation.
While both the actors have claimed multiple times in the past that they planned to quit the franchise, they reprised their roles in multiple projects even after the conclusion of The Next Generation. However, the two were not the only ones who returned to reprise their roles for Picard.
They were also joined by none other than LeVar Burton, who reprised his portrayal of Geordi La Forge.
Brent Spiner thought LeVar Burton’s work in Picard was best he had ever seen from the actor
Brent Spiner had worked with LeVar Burton on several seasons of The Next Generation previously. Both had fan-favorite roles that they reprised in 2020, more than 2 decades after playing the characters for the first time.
However, Spinner thought that Burton’s acting chops were not only on full display during Picard, he claimed in an interview that he thought some of the actor’s best work came in the 2020 series: (Via Trek Movie)
We did it several times, obviously, as you do when you do shoot something and it did alter a little bit… I was blown away by LeVar. I thought, “This is the best work I’ve ever seen him do.” And it wasn’t really stressful for him. He was very eager to do it. I remember him looking at the scene and going, “Oh, good, it’s emotional.” He was ready to go and I’ve never seen him better. And I’ll say that’s true in a lot of ways for several of the other cast members in previous episodes.
Of course, Spinner had complements for several other actors who appeared on Piccard, including the likes of Jonathan Frakes and Michael Dorn, as he thought a range of cast members were ‘on top of their game’ for Picard.
Brent Spiner initially had no intention of returning as Data in Picard
Despite previously stating he wouldn’t play Data again, Brent Spiner found himself back in the role, thanks to a combination of financial persuasion and the creative vision of showrunner Terry Matalas. Spiner humorously recounted,
They just threw hundreds of thousands of dollars at me… I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll do the whole season.’
Further, the actor mentioned how he looked forward to working with his former colleagues once again, and was excited at the prospect. The actor mentioned how in Picard, unlike the previous times he played Data, he did not have to undergo lengthy makeup sessions in order to prepare, which acted as further inspiration to return to the series.
Of course, the character arc of Data also was aptly shown in Picard, which obviously added to the charm:
It continues that journey of Data getting so very close to being human still he’s not… And that makes him, I think, even more human, because we all struggle with that.
The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard are both available to be streamed on Amazon Prime.
