Initially hesitant, Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart found the role of his life as Star Trek's Captain Picard. For the 80-year-old, the show goes on.
Patrick Stewart at the screening of "Star Trek: Picard" in Berlin in January, 2020Image: picture-alliance/Geisler-Fotopress/S. Gabsch
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Beginning in 1987, British stage actor Patrick Stewart followed William Shatner as the commander of the Starship Enterprise in the revival of the legendary Star Trek science fiction series. For seven years, he commanded his crew through the endless expanses of space, entering regions no human had ever seen before and taking his career to unexpected heights.
It was a long away from the small English town of Mirfield in Yorkshire where Patrick Hewes Stewart was born on July 13, 1940. To this day he remembers how helpless he felt as a child when he saw his father, an officer in the British Army traumatized by the war, beat up his mother.
Captain Picard takes full command of the Starship Enterprise in 1987Image: Imago/United Archives
Patrick Stewart's Shakespearean origins
Stewart began acting at the age of 12. He dropped out of school at age 16, studied acting in Bristol on a scholarship and had a job as a reporter. In 1965 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and worked there for a quarter of a century. The theater world and bloodthirsty Shakespearean dramas were his salvation from the real violence at his family home.
In 1979, Stewart's performance in Anthony and Cleopatra won him the Laurence Olivier Award. By then he had started to perform in BBC TV drama productions such as I, Claudius.
His one-person stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was a theater sensation: Stewart played more than 30 roles himself. After its 1987 premiere in Stewart's hometown, the show became a critic's favorite and a fixture on Broadway in New York.
Star Trek Day marks series' 55th anniversary
The cult science fiction series was launched in the US on September 8, 1966. On Star Trek Day, revisit the story of the show.
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From the moon to the entire universe
The Starship Enterprise got off to a rather bumpy start in the US, when it first launched on September 8, 1966. This changed with the growing interest in the Apollo program and the successful lunar landing in 1969. Suddenly, people felt closer to space and science fiction was hip. With more and more TV channels featuring the series, Star Trek was first shown in Germany in 1972.
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The first Enterprise
The original version of the ship which flew through the endless expanses of space carried the label "U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701." The show's canon says it was built in the year 2245 and commanded by Captain Kirk from 2264 until 2269. Kirk eventually had to destroy it, to keep it from being used by enemies. Later models can separate the "saucer" section from the hull in an emergency.
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Beam me up, Scotty
When Scotty is in the transporter room and is moving the oversized sliders, the beamers give off a high-pitched squeal and the bodies of the crew split into molecules to be transported to alien planets. If all goes well, travelers eventually return to the ship in their original form, like above.
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Multicultural workplace
The original show managed to overcome all racial and gender boundaries in the 1960s America. Characters from Scotland, Russia and Japan work together on the bridge with Americans. Two women are also part of the team. One of them — Lt. Uhura played by African American actress Nichelle Nichols — serves as a Starfleet officer. She became the first Black woman with such a strong role.
In 1976, NASA engineers named the prototype of their space shuttle "Enterprise." Of course, on the day of the big press event, the entire crew was present — except one individual. Who could that be?
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Spock is a legend
Meet the iconic half-human, half-Vulcan Spock. He is the first officer aboard the Enterprise and Captain James T. Kirk's right-hand man. His favorite word is "fascinating." The Vulcan salute (pictured) is still a fun party trick — not everyone can do it. The actor Leonard Nimoy, who passed away in 2015, never managed to get away from his role as Mr. Spock.
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Back to the past
In 1984, "Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home" was hugely successful and the first real hit movie in the Star Trek series. The Enterprise arrives from the future back in the middle of the 1980s. The now somewhat dated crew makes fun of itself. Scotty tries to talk to a computer mouse, and Spock hides his ears with bandana and dresses up as a hippie on drugs.
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The Next Generation
In 1987, the Enterprise saga got a fresh start. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is set a good 100 years later than the first one. The team of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (left) boasts aliens of its own, including the Klingon Worf and the ship psychologist Troi from the planet Betazed. The friendly android Data (right) became the show's breakout character.
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'nuqneH - qapla': Exchanging pleasantries in Klingon
"Klingon" was invented in 1984 by linguist Marc Okrand. It is a speakable and writable language that was created for warlike Klingons from the planet Kronos and, accordingly, sounds harsh. Shakespeare plays have been translated into Klingon, and DW once even created a version of our website in Worf's mother tongue. Some Trekkies still make the effort of learning it.
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Humor transcends universes
Star Trek has inspired countless parodies in the US but also in Germany. German actor and filmmaker Michael "Bully" Herbig spoofed the show in his movie "(T)Raumschiff Surprise" ("Dreamship/Starship Surprise") where he portrayed Mr. Spuck (which translates as Mr. Spit). The movie revolves around a crew of a space cab and features references to the "Star Wars" universe as well.
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No end in sight
In July 2016, the feature film "Star Trek - Beyond" was released in cinemas. In it, Kirk, Spock & Co. are played by young actors and the blockbuster boasts cutting-edge special effects. And the Enterprise is still preparing for new missions into uncharted territory. In April 2021, Paramount Pictures announced an official release date for the next Star Trek movie: on June 9, 2023.
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The future is female
The Netflix series "Star Trek: Discovery" features Michelle Yeoh (left) as Captain Philippa Georgiou, and Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham (right). Star Trek has always been a pioneer in diversity, casting Asian and African American actors and actresses in leading roles. The first Star Trek female captain was Kathryn Janeway in "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001).
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Off to Hollywood for Star Trek
It was also in 1987 that the relatively unknown stage actor was beamed onto television screens, taking on the role of Commander Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Hesitant to join the show, Stewart agreed after his agent assured him it would be a one-off. But in fact, Stewart ended up steering the USS Enterprise through its galactic adventures for a total of 178 episodes over the next seven years, as well as four full-length feature films. Unlike the miniseries he performed for the BBC, Star Trek's relentless filming schedule proved a struggle.
Back on Planet Earth, the series had a brief but astronomical success. The producers were initially at odds as to whether Stewart's British accent could really fit the commander of a US spaceship in the 24th millennium. Over time, the character's subtle diplomatic maneuvering became an integral part of the series, especially when he would quote Shakespeare in the starship's cockpit. Continuing the tradition, Stewart quoted sonnets by Shakespeare on his 80th birthday.
When the cult series ended in 1994, the most successful of the Star Trek franchise ever aired, Stewart ruled out ever returning to the command bridge of the Enterprise.
The return of Captain Picard
But 25 years later, he was back. In the new Amazon Prime series Star Trek Picard, we see Captain Jean-Luc Picard spending his retirement in a vineyard in France in 2399.
Having stressed in many interviews that he had said everything he could about his beloved intergalactic character, Stewart decided to reprise the role only after being given the freedom to recreate a whole new look and feel for the series as an executive producer.
Star Trek: Captain Picard is back on board the Enterprise
The producers of Star Trek have not run out of ideas: Amazon Prime has sent Sir Patrick Stewart into space again in the role of Jean-Luc Picard. He and Captain Kirk are the most famous of all Starfleet captains.
This feels like just the right time and age for Captain Picard to show up again, portrayed by Patrick Stewart. The always proper ambassador of peace is underway in outer space, searching for new forms of life and a society in which every living being has equal rights. Of course he will fight evil again, because even peaceful galaxies have villains who prefer power over peaceful coexistence.
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USS Enterprise
Gene Roddenberry is the man who invented Star Trek in the mid-1960s, and he had the vision of a peaceful universe at a time when both the US and the Soviet Union were trying to seize control of space. Roddenberry placed a multicultural crew on the good ship Enterprise, including a Japanese, a Russian and an Afro-American communications officer.
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Kirk und Spock, a dream team
Leonard Nimoy (left) played the Vulcan Spock, the first extraterrestrial on board a spaceship from Earth. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was commander on board in the first Enterprise series. He and Spock were a dream team that straightened up outer space from 1966 to 1969. The story came to an end three seasons and 69 episodes later.
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Meet the first Enterprise captain, Christopher Pike
Before Captain Kirk headed into space, the crew of the USS Enterprise was commanded by a Captain Pike in a pilot to the series, titled "The Cage." The film turned out to be too intellectual, and it was open-ended. Pike nevertheless reappeared in one of the Enterprise episodes, and his story was finally wrapped up.
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Star Trek Generations: Kirk and Picard
The TV series also inspired several movies. In the 1994 "Star Trek Generations" — the seventh feature film — Kirk passed the baton to Jean-Luc Picard. Through a leap in time, Kirk and Picard end up in a kind of parallel universe, where they join forces to fight the bad guy. On TV, "The Next Generation" series starring Captain Picard has been running successfully since 1987.
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The Next Generation series
The story of the USS Enterprise continues a good 100 years after Kirk's era. Picard's crew includes numerous aliens, among them a Klingon by the name of Worf and the ship's psychologist Troi (left) from the planet Betazed.
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Data, cat lover
Data (right), a friendly android who shoots with deadly precision and has all too human features, has cult status in "The next Generation." He adores his tomcat Spot, and takes the feline on every Enterprise journey.
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Another captain: Jonathan Archer
This is where the Star Trek creators made their first leap in time: 100 years before Captain James T. Kirk launched into space, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) was chief on the bridge of the Enterprise. "Star Trek: Enterprise" ran from 2001 to 2005, but despite its almost 100 episodes, it never managed to convince as many fans as other Star Trek series.
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Kirk and Spock as young men
There are 13 Star Trek movies to date. The rebooted series stars Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) — as young men. In the 11th Star Trek movie from 2009, the reckless young Kirk enjoys racing through the desert to the sound of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" — until he and Spock embark on their first adventure. The film was directed by J.J. Abrams, best known as a Star Wars filmmaker.
In 2017, Netflix launched "Discovery," the next Star Trek series. This time, the captain and the first officer were female. Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) is portrayed as an ambivalent character who repeatedly caused surprises throughout the series.
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Captain Pike is back
Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) returned in season 2 of the Netflix series. The story takes place 10 years before Kirk takes over; the USS Enterprise is just being built. Like in the Star Wars saga, the makers of Star Trek extended the timelines of the various series, allowing them to produce more spin-offs and sequels.
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A woman at the helm: Captain Janeway
A woman was at the helm in one of the successful spin-off series. From 1995-2001, Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) led the crew on the Voyager. Janeway even met Jean-Luc Picard in the 10th Star Trek movie, the 2002 "Nemesis," where the two captains communicated via their screens. The series about the "Deep Space Nine" space station (1993-99) was another spin-off.
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Picard and his number one
Trekkies look forward to the "Star Trek: Picard" series because "Jean-Luc" is the most popular of all Starfleet captains. Above all, they want him to be the captain everyone remembers — a hope they've been promoting on Twitter with the hashtag #bethemanweremember. Old friends accompany Picard, including Number One Riker (above), Data, Troi, Guinan and a newcomer: the Borg beauty Seven of Nine.
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The series reflects much of the present, says Stewart, an avowed leftist who makes no secret of his contempt for US President Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and is concerned about the rise of nationalism and growing economic inequality.
In 2010, the actor was knighted by the British Royal Family, putting him in league with other great character actors like Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir Alec Guinness.
In an interview in June 2020, shortly before his 80th birthday, Playboy magazine asked him whether he had thought of quitting acting soon. "Never, because I would be quitting my life," he said. "When I was acting as a child, I wasn’t 'Patrick Stewart.' I was living somebody else’s life, one that was better than mine. I have always felt safe onstage."
