‘Star Trek’ Writer Explains Patrick Stewart’s Involvement In Writers’ Room

Earlier this Fall, Sir Patrick Stewart took the stage at the annual Star Trek Convention to reveal he was coming back to reprise his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Weeks later, the iconic actor shared a picture alongside several writers as the group assembled to take part in an initial writers’ room for the yet-untitled Picard show.

Chabon recently spoke with Deadline about the opportunity to write alongside a person such as Stewart, calling the situation “fantastic.”

“That project is ongoing now and the photo was us getting started with Patrick,” Chabon said. “He was in the room for two weeks. It was fantastic. That was sort of in the preliminary writers room that we had going before it expanded to the full room that it is now with a bunch of writers in there. I’m up in Berkeley and they are down in L.A.”

The novelist-turned-screenwriter went on to explain the exact role Stewart had in the writing process. According to Chabon, Stewart showed up for a few weeks to brainstorm with the writers to get ideas flowing.

“That time with Patrick as a resource and as a very willing and literate resource, I think its going to make the show

“Plus he’s incredibly sweet and funny and charming and surprisingly humble and modest. He’s a wonderful collaborator and I can’t say enough about the amazing and unexpected benefit of the process.”

Suffice to say, Chabon had a blast working with Stewart. Chabon called Stewart a “sweetheart,” and complimented the actor’s ability to contribute to the writer’s room.

“He asks a lot of questions about you and your life. He’s a sweetheart. He’s also really, really smart,” Chabon said. “I’ve had the experience over the years of meeting actors who play intelligent characters and sometimes it can be a little bit of a disappointment when you meet the actor to discover that they aren’t as brilliant as the character they portray.”

Are you excited to see Patrick Stewart back as Captain Picard? What have you thought of the new Star Trek properties on CBS All Access? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!