“To me, he initially came off as cocky”: Patrick Stewart is as Calm as a Rock But 1 Star Trek: TNG Star Everyone Hates Even Made Him Feel Insecure

Star Trek has been one of the foundational pillars of the science fiction genre in Hollywood since its premiere in 1966. However, it wasn’t until the arrival of Sir Patrick Stewart that the franchise found a long, fruitful, and creatively fulfilling partnership with him.

As far as potential was concerned, the actor was already renowned before coming on board the USS Enterprise after working as an esteemed actor at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for decades. While that might even be considered by some as an over-qualification for the job, it is difficult to imagine The Next Generation without Sir Patrick Stewart serving as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Sir Patrick Stewart’s Early Days on USS Enterprise

Star Trek legend, Sir Patrick Stewart‘s legacy may be infallible to its core, but even an actor such as him can get caught up in the intricacies of everyday problems that plague numerous other industry actors. One of the biggest drawbacks, as Stewart would later go on to reveal in his memoir, was tackling a major case of insecurity.

For actors, insecurity, anxiety, and impostor syndrome are ailments as familiar as the common cold. But for Sir Patrick Stewart, all it took was one call from the Star Trek franchise asking him to take on the mantle passed down by William Shatner himself for him to lose all sense of confidence accumulated over the decades.

Despite spending decades as one of the most revered actors on stage, Stewart quickly came to realize that working in front of a lens was very different from the live audience and stage he was used to. As such, instead of putting his acquired skills to good use, the X-Men star was plagued with insecurity, especially due to the presence of one Star Trek co-star.

Sir Patrick Stewart Opens Up About His Insecurity

Among all the greats that occupied the Star Trek universe at one point or another, none has come close to being so unanimously irksome as the infamous Wesley Crusher aka Wil Wheaton. As for the then-newly employed star, Sir Patrick Stewart, he would face the worst end of it as he watched the adolescent actor blooming with full confidence while he faltered under the weight of the franchise.

In his memoir, Making It So [via /Film], the actor revealed:

I felt that the teen-on-the-Enterprise concept was a little gimmicky, but I was also put off by Wil’s adolescent self-assurance. To me, he initially came off as cocky. But as I examined my feelings, I realized that they were not really about Wil or some notion that he should know his place as a juvenile actor — they reflected my own vulnerability. In those first weeks, I wished I had Wil’s confidence.

As time wore off and his career settled into a routine, Sir Patrick Stewart became an unstoppable force with acting credits in numerous Star Trek films, a spin-off series on Paramount+ titled Picard, and headlining Fox’s multibillion-dollar X-Men franchise before making a much-celebrated cameo in the MCU film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+