James McAvoy has revealed that one of his dream acting roles would be playing a young version of the captain of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). During an interview with Collider, the actor shared that he would love to be part of the Star Trek franchise, and if there was ever a remake of the hit TV series, he’d want to play a young Jean-Luc Picard.
While promoting the audible drama for Neil Gaiman’s comic book The Sandman McAvoy was asked if he had any dream roles or franchises that he wants to be a part of. McAvoy responded, saying that he would love to be a part of one of the best sci-fi series of all time, Star Trek. “I mean, I’ve often talked about loving Star Trek, and jokingly, but also kind of seriously been like, if you ever want to do a young Jean-Luc Picard, I’m your man,” the actor said. “But I’m probably getting close to being too old to do a young Jean-Luc Picard now. So there’s that.”
However, the star clarified how his age doesn’t necessarily count him out of the potential role. “Now we live in the land of remakes, so there’s always a chance,” McAvoy explained. “There’s always a chance that you’re going to get on a show. But the only one that comes to mind is Star Trek, I think. I’ve always loved it. Always.”
Jean-Luc Picard is played by Sir Patrick Stewart, and first appeared in 1987 in the show Star Trek: The Next Generation. The fact that Stewart’s name is attached to the role could work in McAvoy’s favour as the two actors have a history of sharing iconic characters. McAvoy has played a young Patrick Stewart before. Previously the actor took over the part of Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, in the X-Men franchise from Stewart back in 2011.
“I’ve successfully been Patrick [Stewart], actually, and balded up, although maybe again, the young Jean-Luc wouldn’t be bald. But yeah, no, maybe I’m overqualified for it, though,” McAvoy said. “That’s the other thing. Do you know what I mean? It’s too easy; it’s too obvious a choice. So maybe that turns people off from it.”