When Sir Patrick Stewart received the offer for the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, he knew nothing about Star Trek. He took the role despite initial doubts. Stewart did not expect the television series to be so successful.
How did Patrick Stewart get the role of Captain Picard? The science fiction series took off from the original Star Trek from the 1960s. Stewart was offered the role, but he knew nothing about the series and involved his children as advisors, who encouraged him (via Mirror).
He remembers coming out of an afternoon performance of a play he was in and putting his children to bed before he had to return to the theater. On the television was “that thing on TV with those people in colorful T-shirts. […] And that’s all I remember,” Stewart said.
Here you can see the trailer for the current third season of Star Trek: Picard:
He thought he could go home after 6 months
Why did Patrick Stewart have doubts? The creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, was actually against Stewart’s involvement in the series. Gene reportedly said to his team after the first conversation: “Well, that’s an actor we will never see again.”
This made Stewart very insecure. The fact that his wife stayed in London with the kids because she didn’t like Los Angeles didn’t help either.
However, producer Rick Berman insisted on casting Stewart after three audition dates.
What convinced him then? In an interview with “The Late Late Show”, Patrick Stewart stated that his agent told him that one could not resurrect an iconic series. He should go, shoot 12 episodes or fewer, earn money for the first time in his life, and go home (via Espinof).
The prediction for him and his role was therefore: 6 months, not longer.
You can watch the interview here. The mentioned statement can be found at 3:20 minutes:
Even after the start of filming, the doubts did not completely leave the actor. Patrick Stewart remembers his beginnings in Star Trek, which he apparently found quite difficult:
I was alone here during the first season – for 10 months – and I lived like a hermit, partly out of fear because I realized the enormous responsibility I had with the show, especially regarding the many lines I had to memorize every day and then forget and then learn anew scene by scene.
I was afraid that one day I would show up on set and not be ready. I didn’t want to be the one who goes on set and doesn’t know his lines.
via Mirror
How did it go after that? The prediction didn’t quite come true. From the “12 episodes or fewer” came seven seasons (1987 to 1994), four movies, and from 2020 another Star Trek series. Patrick Stewart received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for his contributions to acting.
Sir Patrick believes that the role of Captain Picard was his greatest achievement – on screen, but also off it. According to Patrick Stewart, Star Trek carries an immense responsibility: “There were so many letters and comments where people told me that this show helped them in their childhood.”
Another popular series has not left some actors with such fond memories:
