Sir Patrick Stewart spills on Picard, the STNG boys in Vegas, and hanging with Beatles
The universe may or may not deserve Sir Patrick Stewart, but we’ll take him anyway. Appearing on Tuesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, ostensibly to promote Charlie’s Angels, the latest Hollywood property he’s classed up just a bit, Stewart was his twinkly best, giving Kimmel ad everyone involved essentially everything they could have hoped for. To wit:
He and his Star Trek: The Next Generation guy pals Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, and LeVar Burton used to go all Rat Pack in Las Vegas during the show’s run. Telling Vegas transplant Kimmel that the five bridge officers were all “great buddies” who “love each other” is heartwarming enough, before Stewart explained his enthusiasm at the blackjack tables, conjuring images both of the STNG crew’s poker nights and the Star Trek: Ocean’s 11 movie we’re apparently never going to get. “There was a little bit of flipping going on,” admitted the smiling Stewart, adding, “Maybe a little bit of flapping too,” which is so inexplicable as to be essentially perfect where it is.
He’s never seen a single episode of the Charlie’s Angels TV series, a fact he was politely apologetic about, considering he’s playing a Bosley in Elizabeth Banks’ reboot of the remake of a 70s detective show. (Apparently, he was too bust rehearsing and performing Shakespeare six nights a week back then.) It’s okay, though—Kimmel’s going to send him the poster.
Stewart hates Donald Trump almost as much as the man he calls “our Donald Trump,’ Boris Johnson. Apart from his and his Tories’ policies, Stewart was blunt in asking incredulously, how “two of our leaders should have such shitty hair.” Seriously guys—Stewart’s been rocking the bald look for decades and his leadership has never been questioned.
Which brings us to next year’s Star Trek: Picard, where Sir Patrick is dusting off his most famous and beloved character (sorry, MacBeth) 18 years after Star Trek: Nemesis. After first offering up a flat, “No,” in response to Kimmel asking him for the top secret details, Stewart happily told us nothing but what we already know from the trailer—Picard’s running his vineyard, the world and Starfleet have changed, Picard, like Stewart, owns a pit bull. “What we have is something different, something new,” teased Stewart of the continuing voyages of Jean Luc Picard, adding unnecessarily, “I hope there won’t be too much disappointment.”
Oh, and he and fellow Sirs Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr all hung out recently at a Sunset Boulevard restaurant. No big deal. When you’re Sir Patrick Stewart. Plus, he told the enthusiastically obliging Kimmel he’s stealing some of the cool art deco furniture from his dressing room, because he’s Patrick goddamned Stewart.