Sir Ian McKellen has admitted he tried to stop Sir Patrick Stewart from joining the Star Trek series as Captain Picard back in 1987. The two veteran actors have been friends for as long as they have been professional colleagues, and performed in British theaters together before Star Trek came calling for Stewart.
McKellen spoke to The Guardian about his friend on the occasion of Stewart's 80th birthday. "Far, too, from his earlier success as a classical actor with the Royal Shakespeare and National Theatre companies," he stated. "He’s long forgiven me my advice not to risk a solid career on the British stage by falling for an uncertain future in Star Trek."
"How he got that job is a prime example of how luck can be a lady and it will be a riveting chapter in the memoir he must write," McKellen continued. "He has so much to tell. Not just the glamour and the hard work but his politics and his open-hearted commitment to his charity work."
Despite McKellen's misgivings, Stewart chose to take on the role of Jean-Luc Picard and achieved international fame as the new captain of the starship USS Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation. So successful was Stewart's legacy as the character that Picard made a comeback in 2020 with his own titular series, featuring Stewart in the lead playing an older, more embittered version of the esteemed captain.
Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera and Harry Treadaway. The first season is available on CBS All Access.