Patrick Stewart might be the most beloved actor from Star Trek, yet he had some reservations to start. After joining the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast and starting production on one of the best sci-fi series ever, he admits now he didn’t think he was up to scratch.
Speaking to Deadline about the early days of Star Trek series The Next Generation, he revealed that the show took a while to find its feet. “I’ve watched quite a lot of it in the past few months as we’ve been talking about Picard, and I must say I’m not happy with a lot of the work I did in that first season,” he says. “It was a little artificial, not spontaneous, not being in the moment. Not all of those things that are now fundamental to whatever we do. It got better as it went on.”
During The Next Generation’s first season Star Trek captain Jean-Luc Picard a little grumpier and more rigid, not quite the empathetic and candid leader we’d come to love. Clearly Stewart feels now, looking back, that portrayal didn’t suit him either.
Thankfully, all was rectified, and we got to enjoy several seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. A few Star Trek movies too, even though some of them aren’t the best (Insurrection… Yeah).
We recently got a reunion of the classic cast in Picard season 3, when Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, and Brent Spiner all joined Stewart. They faced another galactic threat together, getting through by the skin of their teeth. That’s the crew of the Enterprise we know and love!
You can watch everything Star Trek on Paramount Plus, available through a free trial above. You can find out what the future holds in our guide to the Star Trek: Picard season 4 release date. Our Star Trek 4 release date guide might be useful as well.