With a plethora of successful TV shows running, a film in the works, and a legion of devoted fans both new and old Star Trek has been sitting high for a good while now. So it may come as a surprise to some that Patrick Stewart taking on the role of Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation was a pretty big risk back in 1987. In fact, it was a risk so big that Stewart’s now-good friend Ian McKellen told him not to take the role at all.
In his new memoir, “Making It So” (via Variety), Stewart tells the story of how McKellen almost physically tried to stop him from leaving the theater and taking on a role on some sci-fi show in America. “When I told him I was going to sign the contract, he almost bodily prevented me from doing so. ‘No! No, you must not do that. You must not. You have too much important theater work to do. You can’t throw that away to do TV. You can’t. No!'”
Although McKellen has since admitted that his stance was entirely wrong, especially considering Trek catapulted Stewart into the global star that he is today, back when he had it most people probably would have agreed with him. Stewart was already an accomplished stage and screen actor and back then going into television was seen as a step down from film and stage for actors. That’s not to mention the fact that this was a genre television show, on a budget, for a franchise that was not the global powerhouse it is now. Hell, the first season of TNG probably still had Stewart worried given how rocky it was (and the uncomfortable jumpsuit uniforms) but things turned out for the best as Stewart got to not only play Picard for seven fantastic seasons but also reprise the role for three… not so great ones.
