Picard's Patrick Stewart Credits Star Trek As The Most Important Thing In His Life
After years of starring in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Picard," and several feature films released in theaters, there is no denying that Sir Patrick Stewart has had a major impact on the "Star Trek" franchise throughout his career. It appears the same can be said about the actor in terms of the effect that "Star Trek" has had on him since he first decided to suit up as Jean-Luc Picard.
While it's no secret that Sir Patrick Stewart has lent his incredible acting skills to many franchises over the years, such as "Family Guy," "American Dad," "X-Men," and the MCU, it's no secret that his time in the "Star Trek" universe is a pretty solid contender to make the top off of his biggest achievements list. There are some of Starfleet's finest that Trekkies hold in high regard, and Jean-Luc Picard is one of the candidates for one of the franchise's most revered and respected personas. And after playing the character for so many years, many fans were probably curious to learn how the actor himself felt about bringing so much joy to people from his continuous efforts portraying the Starfleet Captain onscreen.
Luckily for them, Stewart isn't shy about sharing his true feelings on what Picard and "Star Trek" overall have meant to him in the long run. "Believe me, it's the most important thing that ever happened in my life or my career," the actor revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live. "It touched every corner of my life." His time as Picard was a very rewarding endeavor for the actor and the fans. But those who love "Star Trek" might not realize that one of the franchises' most crucial players didn't think Patrick Stewart was right for the role.
The creator of Star Trek wasn't a fan of Stewart as Picard
It's safe to assume that those who have pledged allegiance to the "Star Trek" franchise believe not only that Sir Patrick Stewart was an amazing casting choice but also that the talented actor was born to play the part of Jean-Luc Picard, so much so that trying to conceive of anyone else in the role feels like an exercise in futility.
But someone didn't believe the actor was right to headline the show, and that person just happened to be Gene Roddenberry, the franchise's creator. "Gene had been very reluctant to cast me from the beginning, from the first day that I was rushed over to his house to meet with him. The meeting lasted about seven minutes," the actor said during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "But he made it clear that I was not what he was looking for." Stewart also mentioned that after he was cast, Roddenberry still wasn't thrilled, which became apparent when the creator visited the set. Stewart said, "Occasionally I would catch him looking at me, and I know that he was thinking, 'What the hell is this guy doing in my show?'"
And then he revealed an interesting piece of Star Trek trivia regarding a possible Paramount artifact that could be worth searching out, saying, "I am told that somewhere in the archives, somewhere in the cellars of Paramount, there is a memo which came from Gene to everybody on the production that he never wanted to hear my name mentioned again."
While Roddenberry was right about a lot of "Star Trek" things, it seems pretty obvious after so many years that he was wrong to resist Stewart sitting in the captain's chair as Picard.