STAR TREK Creator Gene Roddenberry Initially Didn't Want Patrick Stewart to Play Captain Picard
It’s hard to imagnie anyone else in the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Patrick Stewart was perfectly cast in the role, and he did such a fantastic job bringing this character to life. We’re still enjoying it today with the new Star Trek series Picard!
But Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry initially didn’t want Stewart in the role. In an in-depth interview hosted by Jennifer Howard for the Television Academy Foundation, Star Trek producer Rick Berman explained that Roddenberry was very much against the casting:
"Gene did not like Patrick Stewart. Gene did not like the idea of a bald English guy taking over, stepping into the shoes of William Shatner. He aired that pretty quickly. Now, I shouldn't say that he didn't like Patrick. He acknowledged what a wonderful actor Patrick was, but he just wasn't his image of what the captain should be."
According to a Paramount memo posted on Letters of Note, Belgian actor Patrick Bauchau (The Pretender, Panic Room) was Roddenberry's first choice to play the Captain. The document reads, "Patrick Bauchau did come in to read for Gene today for the role of 'Picard.' His reading was well received; he and Patrick Stewart seem to be the favorites."
I can see why Roddenberry would prefer Bauchau, as he was more believably French, was considered better looking, and had a full head of hair at the time.
The document also lists several other names under consideration such as Mitch Ryan, Roy Thinnes, and Yaphet Kotto.
In the end, Berman managed to convince Roddenberry to cast Stewart, and the rest is history!
Via: /Film