jeff perera

Sir Patrick Stewart reveals he called a meeting with the Star Trek cast because they were having too much fun. Before he became one of television’s most iconic captains, Sir Patrick Stewart approached Star Trek: The Next Generation as if he were performing Shakespeare. Conan O’Brien: “You said, ‘I’m going to approach this as if it’s Lear or Hamlet.’ That’s the seriousness with which I’m going to take this.” Sir Patrick Stewart: “I thought it was too internal, too restrained, too solitary, too unconnected with the others. So I resolved that from the start of the second season, I would begin to open him up and let him out.” That change helped shape Picard over seven seasons, four movies, and eventually Star Trek: Picard. But Sir Patrick Stewart also took his leadership role behind the scenes seriously. Halfway through the first season, he called a meeting with the cast because he believed being captain meant more than playing the leader of the Enterprise. Sir Patrick Stewart: “I’m captain of the Enterprise. But because I’d led companies on in the theater, I felt this should be my role here. I’m a leader, not just of Starfleet, but of this band of people who are working these endless days.” “We have got to make their lives easier, and the problem is we are having too much fun.”