Over the years Sir Patrick Stewart has starred in multiple well-received movies and franchises, as well as played numerous illustrious roles that have left audiences in awe. His humble personality and intellect have attracted many fans, making him easily one of the most celebrated and respected actors of all time.
While he is known for his acting genius, there was a time when he was afraid to commit to a role that required six years of his career. Ironically, he decided to take the opportunity believing it would not fare well with the audience and eventually fail. However, he was then proved wrong in the most wonderful of ways.
When Sir Patrick Stewart Was Afraid To Take His Most Iconic Role
Sir Patrick Stewart is known for countless remarkable roles, such as Professor Charles Xavier. Having brought to life multiple Shakespearean, Dickens, and Mamet roles, he is however widely recognized for his portrayal of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the hit television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. His authoritative and commanding presence made him a fan favorite.
However, it was this role he was apprehensive to portray since the contract required over 6 years of his career. Having just started to get leading roles on television, he didn’t want to commit for such a long period.
In an interview with NPR, the Dune star stated,
“It was terrifying to me, because what it meant was that I was going to have to shut down my career, which actually — and I don’t know whether there is any connection here — actually had started to take off in a way that I was very pleased with. I’d been playing leading Shakespearean roles for a number of years, and now I was getting leading roles on television, and I was being offered transfers into the West End and transfers to Broadway. And the idea that I would have to shut that down for six years was horrifying.”
Eventually, he decided to take the role thinking it would fail to achieve the same level of popularity as its predecessor.
Ironically, Sir Patrick Stewart Ended Up Playing Captain Picard For 18+ Years
When apprehensive about committing six years to a role, Sir Patrick Stewart was convinced by his agent and others to portray the role that many were convinced would fail. He stated in the NPR interview,
“That was when my agent was the very first person — and many others followed him — to say to me, ‘Look, don’t worry about six years. That’s in all these contracts. I’ve got to tell you, this show will be lucky to make it through the first season. You cannot revive an iconic series like those three seasons of the original Star Trek. You just can’t. So you’re not going to be here for six years. Forget about that!’ So I happily and delightedly signed a contract which committed me to six years. And we ended up doing seven.”
Ironically, he ended up playing the character for 18 years in multiple movies and series. Even recently he just finished playing Captain Picard for three years in the Paramount+ show Star Trek: Picard.
Star Trek: The Next Generation can be streamed on Paramount+.
Source: NPR
