Patrick Stewart Reveals That Ian McKellen "Almost Bodily Prevented" Him From Joining STAR TREK
Ian McKellen was initially not a fan of Patrick Stewart joining Star Trek: The Next Generation and in Stewart’s recent memoir he reveals that McKellen advised him to turn it down. In fact, Stweart said McKellen “almost bodily prevented” from signing the contract.
Stewart wrote in his book: “When I told him I was going to sign the contract, he almost bodily prevented me from doing so. No!’ he said. ‘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!'”
The Jean-Luc Picard actor went on to say: “There are few people, particularly with regard to acting, whose counsel I trust more than Ian’s, but this time I had to tell him that I felt theater would return to my life whenever I was ready for it, whereas an offer of the lead role in an American TV series might never come again.”
Stewart goes on to explain that McKellen “shook his head sadly” while he went ahead and accepted the role. McKellen wished him luck and gave him “a big hug.”
Stewart went on to share that McKellan eventually admitted he was wrong: “In the years since, we have become dear pals and ‘X-Men’ colleagues, and Ian has acknowledged that he was wrong and I was right. More than once, in fact – primarily because I like making him say those words.”
The role of Captain Picard ended up being one of Stewart’s most iconic. The fans love him in the role and Stewart loves playing the character, which is obvious by the fact that he wants to reprise his role in a new Star Trek movie.
Via: Variety