Captain of the fifth Starship Enterprise and a noted figure in space exploration, science, and interstellar diplomacy. ("Encounter at Farpoint, Part I" [TNG]).
Picard was born on Earth in 2305 to Maurice Picard and Yvette Gessard Picard. Maurice was a tradition-bound French vintner who opposed Jean-Luc's ambitions of voyaging among the stars. ("Tapestry" [TNG], "Chain of Command, Part II" [TNG]). Jean-Luc was raised on a family farm in LaBarre, France, along with his older brother, Robert Picard. ("Family" [TNG]). As a boy, young Jean-Luc enjoyed building ships in bottles; his collection included a legendary Promellian battle cruiser, a ship that he would one day discover in his voyages aboard the En terprise-D. Those toy ships served as a springboard for the future captain's imagination. ("Booby Trap" [TNG]). Jean-Luc Picard was proud of his illustrious family history. One of his ancestors fought at the Battle of Trafalgar, a Picard won a Nobel Prize for chemistry, and Picards were among those who settled the first Martian Colonies. (Star Trek: Generations). On the other hand, Picard felt guilt over the role of another ancestor, Javier Maribona-Picard, in the infamous crushing of the Pueblo Revolt on Earth in 1692. ("Journey's End" [TNG]).
Academy and early career. Picard failed in 2322 to gain entrance to Starfleet Academy at the age of 17, but was admitted a year later. ("Coming of Age" [TNG]). As a first-year cadet in 2323, Picard became the only freshman ever to win the Starfleet Academy marathon on Danula II. ("The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" [TNG]). Picard won top academic honors as well. ("Family" [TNG]). Cadet Picard committed a serious offense while at the Academy. Years later, he credited Academy groundskeeper Boothby with making it possible for him to graduate by helping him to do the right thing. ("The First Duty" [TNG]). Shortly after graduating from Starfleet Academy with the class of 2327, Picard was on leave with several classmates at Starbase Earhart,where he picked a fight with three Nausicaans at the Bonestell Recreation Facility. One of the Nausicaans stabbed Picard through the heart, necessitating a cardiac replacement procedure, leaving Picard with an artificial heart. ("Samaritan Snare" [TNG], "Tapestry" [TNG]).
As a young lieutenant, Picard met Ambassador Sarek at the wedding of the ambassador's son. Picard recalled how in awe he was at meeting someone who had helped to shape the Federation. ("Sarek" [TNG]). As a young officer, Picard was romantically involved with the future Jenice Manheim. Although the two had been strongly attracted to each other, Picard feared commitment, and eventually broke off the relationship in 2342. Picard regretted losing Jenice for many years, and the two saw each other again in 2364 when the Enterprise -D saved her husband, Dr. Paul Manheim, after a serious laboratory accident on Vandor IX. ("We'll Always Have Paris" [TNG]). In his early career, Picard distinguished himself when he led an away team to planet Mi lika III, to save an endangered ambassador. ("Tapestry" [TNG]).
On the Stargazer. Lieutenant Picard was a bridge officer on the U.S.S. Stargazer when the ship's captain was killed. Picard took charge of the bridge and for his service in the emergency was offered the command of the Sta rgazer. ("Tapestry" [TNG]). Picard commanded the Stargazer for some 20 years, until 2355, when the ship was nearly destroyed by an unprovoked sneak attack near the Maxia Zeta star system. The surviving Stargazer crew, including Picard, drifted for weeks in shuttlecraft before being rescued. The assailant in the incident was unknown, but was later found to be a Ferengi spacecraft. ("The Battle" [TNG]). Following the loss of the Star gazer, Picard was court-martialed as required by standard Starfleet procedure, but he was exonerated. The prosecutor in the case was Phillipa Louvois, with whom Picard had been romantically involved. ("The Measure of a Man" [TNG]).
Aboard the Enterprise -D. Jean-Luc Picard was appointed captain of the fifth Starship Enterprise in 2363, shortly after the ship was commissioned. ("Encounter at Farpoint" [TNG]). Picard was offered a promotion to the admiralty in 2364 when Admiral Gregory Quinn was attempting to consolidate his power base to combat an unknown alien intelligence that was trying to take over Starfleet Command. Picard declined the offer, citing his belief that he could better serve the Federation as a starship commander. ("Coming of Age" [TNG]). An energy vortex near the Endicor system created a duplicate of Picard from six hours in the future in 2365. Although identical to the "present" person, Picard had difficulty accepting the existence of his twin because he believed the twin might have been responsible for the destruction of his ship, a deeply repugnant thought. ("Time Squared" [TNG]).
Picard's artificial heart required routine replacement, most recently in 2365, when complications in the cardiac replacement procedure performed at Starbase 515 necessitated emergency assistance by Dr. Katherine Pulaski. ("Samaritan Snare" [TNG]). Picard met Ambassador Sarek again in 2366, when Sarek's last mission was jeopardized by Bendii Syndrome, which caused the ambassador to lose emotional control. Picard mind-melded with Sarek to lend the ambassador the emotional stability needed to conclude the historic treaty with the Legarans. ("Sarek" [TNG]). Picard was abducted by the Borg in late 2366 as part of the Borg assault on the Federation. Picard was surgically mutilated and transformed into an entity called Locutus of Borg. ("The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" [TNG]). As Locutus, Picard was forced to cooperate in the devastating battle of Wolf 359, in which he was forced to help destroy 39 Federation starships and their crews. Picard was rescued by an Enterprise -D away team, then surgically restored by Dr. Crusher. ("The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" [TNG]). (In analternate quantum reality, Picard was lost to the Borg in 2366. In this reality, Riker was promoted to captain following his loss. ["Parallels" (TNG)]). Following his return from the Borg, Picard spent several weeks in rehabilitation from the terrible physical and psychological trauma. While the Enterprise -D was undergoing repairs at Earth Station McKinley, Picard took the opportunity to visit his home town of LaBarre for the first time in almost 20 years. While there, he stayed with his brother Robert Picard, met Robert's wife, Marie Picard, and their son, Rene Picard, for the first time. Picard briefly toyed with the idea of leaving Starfleet to accept directorship of the Atlantis Project, but his return home helped him realize that he belonged on the Enterprise -D. ("Family" [TNG]). Picard was reduced to a child after passing through an energy field in 2369. ("Rascals" [TNG]). Jean-Luc Picard suffered profound emotional abuse in 2369 when he was captured by Gul Madred, a Cardassian officer who tortured Picard for Starfleet tactical information. Picard resisted, but later confessed that the experience so brutalized him that he would have told Madred anything had he not been rescued. ("Chain of Command, Parts I and II" [TNG]). Picard's command of the Enterprise-D came to a premature end in 2371, when the ship was destroyed at planet Veridian III while trying to prevent Dr. Tolian Soran from destroying the Veridian system. Working with Picard to stop Soran was James T. Kirk, captain of the original Starship Enterprise. Kirk, who had been missing for some 78 years following the launch of the Enterprise -B, was killed while stopping Soran. (Star Trek: Generations).
Picard and the Klingon Empire. Picard assumed an unprecedented role in Klingon politics when he served as Ar biter of Succession following the death of Klingon leader K'mpec in 2367. K'mpec took the highly unusual step of appointing an outsider as arbiter so as to insure that the choice of K'mpec's successor would not plunge the Empire into civil war. Under Picard's arbitration, council member Gowron emerged as the sole challenger for leadership of the High Council. ("Reunion" [TNG]).
Personal interests. Picard was something of a Renaissance man, whose areas of interest ranged from drama to astrophysics. Picard was an avid amateur archaeologist, occasionally publishing scientific papers on the subject, and even addressing the Federation Archaeology Council in 2367. ("QPid" [TNG]). Early in his career, at the urging of his teacher, noted archaeologist Richard Galen, Picard seriously considered pursuing archaeology on a professional level. Picard's path later crossed Galen's again just before Galen's death in 2369. Picard helped complete Galen's greatest discovery, the reconstruction of an ancient message from a humanoid species that lived some 4 billion years ago. ("The Chase" [TNG]). Picard studied the legendary ancient Iconians while at the Academy. ("Contagion" [TNG]). Picard was also an accomplished equestrian, and one of his favorite holodeck programs was a woodland setting in which he enjoyed riding a computer-simulated Arabian mare. ("Pen Pals" [TNG]). Picard played the piano when he was young ("Lessons" [TNG]), but his deep love of music may have stemmed from an incident in 2368 when his mind received a lifetime of memories from the now-dead planet Kataan, and he experienced the life of a man named Kamin, who died a thousand years ago. Kamin had played a Ressikan flute, and Picard treasured that instrument because of having shared Kamin's memories. ("The Inner Light" [TNG]). Picard shared his music with Neela Daren, an Enterprise -D crew member with whom he became romantically involved in 2369. ("Lessons" [TNG]). Picard was involved with Miranda Vigo in 2364 during shore leave on Earth and although they attempted to keep in touch, never saw her again. In 2370, Bok resequenced Jason Vigo's DNA to appear as Picard's son. Bok planned to kill Jason in retaliation for Picard supposedly murder his son in 2355. ("Bloodlines" [TNG]). Picard was introduced to Beverly Howard, the future Beverly Crusher, in 2344, and fell in love with her. Picard never acted on his feelings because Beverly was involved with his best friend, Jack Crusher, whom she married in 2348. When Jack was killed in 2354, Picard still did not reveal his attraction for her, because he felt to do so would be to betray his friend. Beverly finally learned of Picard's feelings in 2370, when Picard and Crusher were implanted with psi-wave devices so that she could read his thoughts. ("Attached" [TNG]). With the tragic death of his brother, Robert, and his nephew, Rene, in 2371, Picard experienced regret at his decision not to have children. (S tar Trek: Generations).
Prior to taking
command of the Enterprise, Patrick
Stewart had established himself as one of England's foremost leading actors,
having appeared in such BBC productions as "I Claudius," "Smiley's
People" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," which aired on public
and commercial television outlets in America. American filmgoers will also
remember him as Gurney Halek in the David Lynch-directed "Dune".
Leodegrance in"Excalibur," Duke of Suffolk in "Lady Jane" and
Eilbert Lovborg in "Hedda," with Glenda Jackson. He was the recipient
of the prestigious London Fringe Best Actor Award for his performance in
a London production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and an 'Olivier
Award' for his performance in Shakespeare's "Anthony and Cleopatra."
For the past two years, Patrick's one-man dramatic interpretation of Charles Dickens' classic novel, "A Christmas Carol," has broken box office records and garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. Most recently, Patrick earned two 1994 Laurence Olivier Award nominations for "A Christmas Carol" -- boasting nominations for "Best Actor" and "Best Entertainment." In 1992, Patrick received a Drama Desk Award for "Best Solo Performance on Broadway." In 1993, he received a Grammy nomination for his album version of "A Christmas Carol."
Patrick recently appeared as a villain in the Miramax feature film, "Gunmen" and in USA Network's "Death Train." In 1993, Patrick appeared in Mel Brooks' feature film "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," and will be heard as the voice of 'Adventure' in Fox's upcoming film "The Pagemaster," with Whoopi Goldberg and Macaulay Culkin.
Not one to adhere to any single genre of entertainment, Patrick also hosted "Saturday Night Live" in February of this year. This particular show garnered impressive enough ratings to place it among the top five episodes for the 93/94 season, a further testament to Patrick's enormous span of appeal.
During "Star Trek: The Next Generation's" sixth season, Patrick starred in and directed his fellow shipmates, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden and Colm Meaney in a production of the Stoppard drama, "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour." In a four-city tour, the play opened to sell- out crowds and rave critical reviews.
Adding to his impressive list of achievements, Patrick made his directorial debut during "Star Trek: The Next Generation's" fourth season with an episode of the show entitled "In Theory" and went on to direct "Hero Worship" during the fifth season. In the sixth season, he directed "A Fistful of Datas" and during the seventh season, Patrick directed "Phantasms" and "Preemptive Strike"
Patrick grew up in the English town of Mirfield and for 25 years has been an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Considered to be one of the British theatre's leading talents, his credits include Henry IV, Oberon, Shylock (an 'Olivier Award' nomination), Leontes and the title role in Peter Shaffer's 1986 play "Yonadab."
My favorite episode is "The Offspring" because it represents all of the things that we have always tried to do on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. Also, it has another brilliant performance from Brent Spiner matched by an equally fine performance by Hallie Todd, and because it marked the first opportunity given by the studio for one of us to direct an episode, which Jonathan frakes did outstandingly.
Stage:
"Antony and Cleopatra"; "Body & Soul"; "The Caretaker";
"A Christmas Carol"; "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" [also Director];
"The Investigation"; "King Henry IV"; "Henry V";
"A Midsummer Night's Dream"; "Miss Julie"; "Uneasy Lies the Head";
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"; "Yonadab".
Television:
Death Train [aka Detonator] (93); A Fall of Eagles; Hamlet;
I, Claudius (76); Inquest for Mozart; Little Lord Fauntleroy;
Maybury (series); MGM: When the Lion Roars (92); Nova {Mind of a Killer;
Neptune's Cold Fury; To Boldly Go...} [Narrator]; Oedipus Rex;
Pope John Paul II (84); Saturday Night Live [Host];
The Shape of the World [Host, Narrator];
Smiley's People (82); Space Age [Narrator];
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
{Emissary};
"Star Trek: The Next Generation
(87-94)";
Star Trek: From One Generation to the Next [Host];
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Pictures:
Churchill: The Gathering Storm (74);
Code Name: Emerald [aka Emerald] (85); The Doctor and the Devils (85);
Dune (84); Excalibur (81);
Gorky Park (83); Gunmen (94); Hedda (75);
Hennessy (75); Lady Jane (86); L.A. Story (91); Lifeforce (85);
The Pagemaster [Voice] (94); The Plague Dogs (84);
The Planets [Narrator;DTV] (93); Robin Hood: Men in Tights (93);
Star
Trek: Generations (94);
Wild Geese II (85).
Born Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England. Member of various local drama groups from about age 12. Left school at 15 to work as junior reporter on local paper; quit when Editor told him he was spending too much time at the theatre and not enough working. Spent a year as furniture salesman, saving cash to attend drama school. Accepted by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1957. Professional debut 1959 in Repertory in Lincoln; work at Manchester Library Theatre and a tour round the world with the Old Vic Company followed in the early 60s. Joined Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966, to begin 27-year association. Following a spell with the Royal National Theatre in the mid 80s, he went to Los Angeles to star in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran from 1987 - 1994, playing the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. He plans to return to theatre work on the end of this series.
Full filmography:
01. "I, Claudius" 19?? [Seganus]
02. Gunmen (1994) 1994 [Loomis]
03. Pagemaster, The 1994 [(voice)]. Note: (voice)
04. Star Trek: Generations 1994 [Jean-Luc
Picard];
05. Death Train (TV) 1993 [Malcolm]
06. Robin Hood: Men in Tights 1993 [King Richard]
07. L.A. Story 1991 [Maitre d']
08. "Star Trek: The Next Generation"
1987-1994 [Captain Jean-Luc Picard];
09. Lady Jane 1986 [Henry Gray, Duke of Suffolk]
10. Code Name: Emerald aka Emerald 1985 [Colonel Peters]
11. Doctor and the Devils, The 1985
12. Lifeforce 1985 [Doctor Armstrong]
13. Wild Geese II 1985 [Russian General]
14. Dune 1984 [Gurney Halleck]
15. "Smiley's People" (mini) 1982 [Karla]
16. Excalibur 1981 [Leondegrance]
17. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" 1980 [Carla]
18. Hedda 1975 [Ejlert Loevborg]
Mail to Patrick Stewart
Fans of Patrick Stewart, c/o Craig Lawlor P.O. Box 7032, S. Jose, CA 95150-7032
- U.S.A.
For comments, suggestions, ideas etc.etc. please Mail-me.
by Mario Guatteri