Without a doubt, Sir Patrick Stewart, at 83, has become one of those actors whose mere presence in a TV show or movie is worth the price of admission. He also has a commanding voice that along with actors like Morgan Freeman, Sam Elliott, and James Earle Jones is so distinct that you could listen to him read a phone book or real estate listings and be excited. It’s funny how an actor so revered in Shakespeare theater would become such a science-fiction icon almost by a series of events that would seem like luck or chance. Call it kismet.
As Jean-Luc Picard, Stewart has drawn a heavy division between Trekkies on who was better – William Shatner as James T. Kirk or Stewart as Picard? One of my good friends is a die-hard Shatner fan so I know where she stands. Me, personally, I’m more of a Picard fan, even though I didn’t really care for Star Trek: The Next Generation during its initial run. I have been catching up on Star Trek: Picard. And despite what many people have said, I really like Star Trek Generations.
TNG has its known was originally supposed to shake things up by making Cmdr. Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) the Shatner type. And seeing the younger clean-shaven Frakes in those earlier episodes, he seemed to showcase that same Shatner charisma. Yet, the older and balding Picard, captain of the Enterprise, was supposed to remain more of an operational leader rather than going into more action as that was to be Riker’s duties. However, viewers had a different idea. They wanted to see more Picard. And even to Stewart’s own amusement and surprise, he was named by TV Guide one year the sexiest man on TV. The sexiest woman on TV was Cindy Crawford.
This is one of many hilarious, touching and stranger-than-fiction stories Stewart recounts in Making It So: A Memoir, which was released in 2023. I would recommend you find the audio version which is what I listened to because what’s the point of spending many hours learning about Stewart’s life unless you hear it from the man himself. And every detail flows from his mouth with such fascination, I found myself almost hoping it was longer. The audiobook was 16 compact discs averaging an hour, sometimes more, but you wonder if there any details he left for a second memoir.
Born in Yorkshire growing up in a lower-income family, Stewart could’ve been another northern Englander who goes to work a blue-collar job and spends his evenings and weekends at the nearest pub singing and drinking. His family didn’t have a TV set, which is funny because he would make his mark on the medium. They had an outhouse and his father was a drunk. There was domestic abuse. And his mother didn’t leave because that wasn’t in the question.
In his teens, he starts to focus on acting more and begins to find himself getting attention and working for the Bristol Old Vic Company. His passion and love is for the stage. And he begins to work with people he had admired, such as Vivian Leigh and later David Warner. Hearing Stewart talk about all these people and how experienced they were or how they were up and coming is amazing. Stewart grew up with Sir Brian Blessed and would see a young Malcolm McDowell get his feet wet before going on to bigger things.
One of the most sad stories is how Sir Ian Holm, who Stewart admired, was working on a production of The Iceman Cometh and performed well in the rehearsals. However, Holm froze up during the actual performance and had to take a step back from stage work as he focused more on TV and movie roles, which he did better. Stewart is obviously an admirer of other’s works instead of his own. He doesn’t boast or brag even though he does have that type of voice. Yet, he says it’s from working on the stage where the actors are supposed to speak louder.
There’s some amusing stories about how he got started out in movies, most notably the 1984 Dune where he was hired as Gurney Halleck only to confuse David Lynch after filming began because Lynch mistook the make-up Stewart wore in the play for how he looked in real life. And then there was how Gene Roddenberry was opposed to him playing Picard and how he initially was too critical of the cast for not acting professional enough. We learn that it was TNG that initially led to the end of his first marriage to Sheila Falconer and created a riff with his children, Daniel and Sophia.
Stewart takes with humility about his infidelity and behavior around the opposite sex. It almost feels like he’s confessing and asking us to forgive him for his past deeds. Trying to maintain a marriage when you’re in L.A. and your wife is in London can be difficult. Some people have made long-distance relationships work. Others haven’t. The way Stewart recounts the details of his relationships, even though I’m sure he left a lot out, makes it appear he’s ashamed and embarrassed to tell us. This isn’t a kiss-and-tell book. And he acknowledges how his current wife, Sunny Ozell, is younger than his children and almost half his age. They’ve been together for over a decade and I feel it Sunny has been what has kept Stewart from burning out after the poor performances of the Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Nemesis as well as the lackluster X-Men: The Last Stand.
Mainly, Stewart opens up some but still manages to keep some stuff closed. He corrects everyone on his bromance with Sir Ian McKellan as the two didn’t become more friendly until they were filming the first X-Men movie. In actuality, McKellan advised Stewart not to take Picard role. And as Stewart tried to move away from science-fiction/fantasy in the 2010s, he would find himself returning one more time to play Professor Charles Xavier in Logan and Picard in the series that ran for three seasons.
If anything else, the memoir is an example of how we shouldn’t second-guess things. TNG made Stewart a star but it was originally suspected to be canceled after one season. His relationship with Ozell was rocky and they broke up only to get back together. He returned to the X-Men and Star Trek franchises after saying he would never do it and both Logan and Picard have been highlights of his career. Sometimes the universe works out the way it should without us first realizing it.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 