Austin Comic Con hit the Live Music Capital of the World in October with a reunion of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In attendance were eight members of the cast, including the most sought-after, Sir Patrick Stewart. I was able to attend Patrick's Q&A panel, which not only gave us insight into Shakespeare, but also details about his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation and his other filming projects.
Patrick Stewart greeted the packed house at his panel by speaking highly of Austin, Texas. "Great food and music... they told me this combination can only be had in Austin," he told a cheering crowd. Sir Patrick is effortlessly charming and enthralled the audience from the second he started speaking. After telling a few personal (and highly entertaining) stories, he was ready to dive in to the questions from a lucky few audience members.
When the first question was posed about what he liked about being on Star Trek the most, Patrick Stewart paused for only a second. "My friends," he answered. "Michael, Jon, Marina, Gates... Wil, eventually," he teased. "I was the only one who liked him from the start. The others didn't like him. 'Get the kid off the show!'"
While Sir Patrick definitely showed his mischievous side during the panel, he answered a few thoughtful questions as well. When a fan asked if portraying Jean-Luc Picard changed his view on any issues they highlighted on the show, he replied, "It was a fortunate aspect of getting this job that the fundamental philosophy of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry... coincided with my own interests. I had been an activist, for example, of Amnesty International for years before I came to do Star Trek. And many of the principles that Amnesty represents are very much in Star Trek. In fact... we worked with Amnesty International in Los Angeles on an episode ["Chain of Command, Part II"] which was to do with torture. I would say that in all perhaps Star Trek reinforced what I already believed rather than changed me."
Not only has he been an activist with Amnesty International, Patrick Stewart is an outspoken advocate of domestic violence awareness. When asked for advice to give other advocates and educators to give young men who look up to him, he responded, "Interestingly, it was one of the characteristics of Jean-Luc Picard that I most enjoyed exploring throughout the 14 years I was playing that character, and it is the ability to be able to put yourself in someone else's shoes. To see the world from their point of view, to put aside your own needs and desires and beliefs and ambitions, and see how things look from another point of view.
"I've often felt, ranging from the United Nations right down to a school playground, to be able to see the world through another pair of eyes is incredibly helpful in every possible way. So I think maybe I would emphasize that as being the most important thing you can certainly bring to young people."
On a lighter note, Patrick Stewart also shared a few of his most difficult filming experiences when prompted by another audience question. "I can think of the armor in Excalibur... Once we put the armor on the morning, because it was so complex, we could not take it off until the end of the working day – which would often be twelve hours later.
"We would count the lines of bruises and cuts just from wearing it. But nevertheless, it was a film that I was really, really proud to be in. I just took part in a documentary about the director, the great John Boorman, and particularly about Excalibur. ...There is nothing like sitting on a horse, in full armor, with the director insisting that the light is not quite right for the shot. And it starts to rain, and rain is dripping off the leaves of the trees above you, onto your helmet, and down the back... inside the armor. And whatever you're wearing underneath the armor gradually gets wetter and wetter. It's not nice. But there are worse things in the world, nevertheless."
At the convention, just standing in line for an autograph was entertaining, as the celebrities joked around with each other in their signing booths and related interesting Star Trek tidbits here and there, much to the delight of us fans in line. (Marina Sirtis revealed that they all regard First Contact as their favorite film.) From Patrick Stewart's insightful Q&A to the reunion panel later in the day, Austin Comic Con was a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan's dream come true.
