What if Patrick Stewart had done a Bujold?

I think going in that is was true that Burton was the bigger name because of "Roots" and "Reading Rainbow." Actually the biggest name was just having it be made by Roddenberry. The allure of his name still mattered a great deal to people. Stewart though I think became the face of the show and the main reason for it's popularity. Well him and Data. Pillar of course as well but I doubt many people know the writers and so forth who aren't big time fans.

Jason

 

The only way to get a grasp at this theory if another actor had a screen test for the role... at least I could make a better judgement. Actors may had the chops to put their own interpretation of Picard but I'm not sure they could've produced the same lightening in a bottle magic Stewart created in the role.

 

It could be a generational thing.

Roots was in the '70s, and that's where I recognized Burton from. I never saw Reading Rainbow.

Patrick Stewart came to my attention when I saw I, Claudius. I later saw him in Dune and Lady Jane. He was in other movies pre-TNG, but I didn't see those. So I knew he could do a variety of roles (Roman historical drama, science fiction, Tudor historical drama). I think he was also in Excalibur, but I didn't see that (that would be Arthurian fantasy).

As for the other names on that list... Stephen Macht is familiar to me as he played a villain on General Hospital (Trevor Lansing), and Roy Thinnes, who played Sloan Carpenter on One Life to Live (I didn't like his character either, for several reasons). I don't think either of them would have made a good candidate for the role of TNG's captain.

 

Any reason it's these guys in particular? I was actually thinking John Hurt

 

They were all considered for the role back when TNG was being developed, at least those at the ones listed on Memory Alpha.

 

What I wonder is would Picard be seen the same if they had him wear a wig. Him being bald is something that makes for a iconic look because I am sure nobody back in 1987 was thinking that Kirk would be replaced by a older, balder British person much less playing a French person. I bet they all thought they would get another good looking, hunky white guy who looks like a traditional action hero. By not doing the most ovious thing is something that I also think made people give the show a chance. Wonder if they would have felt that way if he had a wig. I mean he still wouldn't be a full cliche but it still wouldn't have made for the best look.

Jason

 

He had hair in I, Claudius - which was released in 1976 - and he looked okay. But by the time he was doing American movies in the '80s, everyone was used to seeing him bald.

 

They tested him in his standard wig (The I Claudius one) & it didn't pass muster. Let's face it. The guy just looks better without it

 

TNG without Pat?

 

Roy Thinnes starred in the classic 60s television series The Invaders. That show ran for two seasons at the same time as the original Trek. I would have liked to see him appear on TNG in some recurring role. Good actor. I am quite happy that Patrick Stewart played the iconic role of Captain Picard.

 

TNG would've been a very different show without PS starring. I think he brought a great deal of grounding to that cast. Frakes has gone on record to state that his presence elevated his own acting performance.

 

As long as he wasn't wearing a mask and calling himself Mr.Big and planning to flood the US with cheap narcotics!
JB

 

Who else but Louis Jourdan could've essayed Captain Jean-Luc Picard, had Sir Patrick Stewart not been cast? He'd have been the perfect choice.

 

Why not Sir Ian Mckellen? We all know that due to the multiverse theory, there is at least one universe out there where this has happened. The thought definitely put a smile on my face, especially considering how the two seem to be good friends.

Hell, I am willing to be there is at least one universe where Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian Mckellen swapped every role they ever played.

I can only imagine Patrick Stewart as Gandalf right now.

 

Stephen Macht, and Gabriel Macht as Wesley.

 

I honestly cannot imagine or picture anyone else in the role of Captain Picard. It was one of the best castings in television history as far as I am concerned.

 

Sir Patrick Stewart was definitely up to the challenge of helping lead STAR TREK to where it had never been before: without the classic series actors. Everyone involved was saying it, "you can't have a STAR TREK without the original cast; TNG's never going to make it past the first season. The First Season might not even get to make it." No, it wasn't entirely in Stewart's hands whether this would end up being the case, or not. People knock the First Season, especially, as being rubbish, but they're just quoting absent opinion, because if they ever watched the thing, they'd immediately notice the great care that went into TNG's first year. It received a lot of attention and the very quality of the shows were quite evident.

But Sir Patrick Stewart was the most visible cast member and he was not like Shatner. Fans weren't going to get what they got before, in the role of a STAR TREK captain. This was a different kind of approach and it worked because Stewart's brilliant. He knew how to make Picard interesting on his own terms and once audiences got to see that about him, it was suddenly OK not to be Kirk-like and you can't help but get curious as to what this Captain's going to be about. Now ... you're suddenly on a journey of discovery with surprises ahead of you. And that's entertaining ... not to mention very satisfying, from a fan point of view.

 

A big part of what makes Trek work is the theatricality, it's a stage writ large - as big as all of space and time. Bujold has a presence that works best in intimate film settings, in a theater I'd be leaning in wondering what she'd just said not because of her volume, but because of that presence and particularly the timbre of her voice. That's not a knock on her at all, and I'm sure she can do a big stage voice, but that's not what she went for in that VOY footage. Stewart plays big. Even his smallest dramatic moments carry resonant tonality and inflections. And though I won't compare their acting on the whole, Kate Mulgrew plays quite similar to Stewart, theatrical and resonant. So what's my point here? Mulgrew stepped in and was entirely different from Bujold, but I think if Stewart had opted out, the replacement would have played Picard quite similarly. I'm not saying TNG would be the same, but not even in the same realm as the difference between a hypothetical Bujold VOY series and seven years of Mulgrew.

 

The only things I had seen with Patrick Stewart by 1987 were Dune and Excalibur. Though, I really didn't remember him from those movies, as he played somewhat small-ish roles. So for most Americans, he was as unknown as anybody in 1987 outside of maybe LeVar.

That said, Patrick gave the role of Picard a serious amount of gravitas and he was definitely the best actor throughout the entire series.

Yeah, it's always hard to imagine a 15 year long role being played by anyone else. I know I probably wouldn't have liked Bujold as Janeway from the few minutes of footage we have. She seemed like she would've made a great Vulcan.