‘Star Trek: Picard’ Sir Patrick Stewart Nearly Turned Down Jean-Luc Return Role
As Star Trek fans excitedly await for the new series Picard, Sir Patrick Stewart has now revealed that he was going to turn down the role. What made Stewart decide to return as Jean-Luc Picard?
An Offer He ‘Couldn’t Refuse’
The Daily Mail reported on Sir Patrick Stewart’s appearance on the Graham Norton Show that he never intended on returning to Star Trek. The Scottish actor revealed that he loved playing Picard and his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation was life-changing. But, he didn’t think that there was anything more that Picard “had to say.”
So, Stewart had a plan. He decided to tell them face-to-face of his decision. But, that plan seemed to backfire.
“I didn’t just want to say, ‘No. Pass,’ so I went to the meeting to explain to them face-to-face why I couldn’t do it. And then they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Although Sir Patrick agreed to do Picard, he did have some stipulations.
Reduced Time On The Enterprise
If Sir Patrick Stewart was going to agree to returning to Star Trek, he asked for two major changes. The first was that the 79-year-old no longer wanted to wear the red uniform he wore for seven years. Second, he wanted significantly reduced time on the Enterprise.
But what about Jean-Luc? Stewart told NPR that around the third season of The Next Generation, the fine line between Jean-Luc Picard and Patrick Stewart no longer existed. He explained that “I knew who this man was inside-out, back-to-front because he was not wholly Jean-Luc Picard. He was partly Patrick Stewart.”
Since his time on the science fiction series, the classically trained actor has struggled with typecasting. He shared that when he auditioned for other roles, he was asked why they should include the Enterprise captain in their production.
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What Is Star Trek: Picard About?
The Hollywood Reporter shared that the new Star Trek series shows that the captain is now leading a “radically altered” life. Having traded a modern starship for a vineyard, our hero is no longer dealing with aliens and universal peace. Picard takes place 18 years after the events of the 2002 movie, Star Trek Nemesis. He is still mourning the loss of Data, which took place in this movie. The captain is also dealing with the loss of Romulus, which was a very “complicated” relationship. This occurred in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek in 2009.
The new series will have some familiar faces as recurring cast. This includes Jeri Ryan, as Seven of Nine, Jonathan Frakes, as William Riker, and Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi. Brent Spiner is returning as Data, although it may be assumed that this would be for flashbacks. That is, unless there are some surprises.
Along with Star Trek: Discovery, there are going to be even more related shows in the near future. This includes the Discovery spinoff with Michelle Yeoh, and Starfleet Academy, from Dynasty executive producers, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.
Star Trek: Picard will air on CBS All Access beginning on January 23. There will be 10 weekly episodes. Already, Picard has been renewed for Season 2. Amazon Prime will air the series internationally, 24-hours after it premieres on CBS All Access.
