New Star Trek Featurette Asks What Makes Patrick Stewart’s Picard So Iconic

Now that Star Trek: Picard has made its formal introduction at the CBS Upfront presentation, Star Trek is considering what makes Patrick Stewart‘s role as Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation iconic. CBS released a new featurette that has some of the cast of Star Trek: Discovery, as well as Star Trek producer Alex Kurtzman, considering that question.

“Captain Picard, in some ways he is the ultimate captain and he is the ultimate captain because of his incredible decency, because of his incredible thoughtfulness, because he was always human, fundamentally, in the choices that he made even when the pressure was really, really high,” Kurtzman says.

“Patrick Stewart, he’s just one of our greatest living actors,” says Mary Wiseman, who plays Ensign Sylvia Tilly on Star Trek: Discovery. “That’s so cool, the coming together of Patrick Stewart’s training and old school, Royal Shakespeare Company gravitas and the combination of that and this like sort of mythological franchise that is Star Trek, the coming together of that is so special.”

“The Picard character, Patrick Stewart’s portrayal of it came with such confidence, right?” says Wilson Cruz, who plays Dr. Hugh Culber on Star Trek: Discovery. “And it was the kind of confidence that was earned. He never demanded respect from his crew. They gave it to him freely because of who he was and how he treated them. We root for him and we’re willing to go on whatever ride he takes us on because of that. He, for me, was the ultimate captain, the ultimate leader. I think right now, in this moment, we are all looking anywhere and everywhere we can for true signs of leadership and I think Picard is a great model for that.”

Star Trek: Picard will catch up with Picard decades after fans last saw him aboard the Enterprise. Is he still the same icon 20 years later and no longer in command of a Starship? Fans will have to wait and see.

What do you think makes Patrick Stewart’s performance as Jean-Luc Picard so iconic? Let us know in the comments.

Star Trek: Picard is expected to debut in late 2019 on CBS All Access. The first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery are now streaming on CBS All Access. The series will return for a third season. All seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation are available to stream on CBS All Access and other streaming platforms.