Sir Patrick Stewart's Shakespearean Approach To Jean-Luc Picard | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

Sir Patrick Stewart remembers learning to loosen up and have more fun after a very serious first season of “Star Trek: Next Generation.”
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Deeper, unboundedly playful, and free from FCC regulations, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend is a weekly opportunity for Conan to hang out with the people he enjoys most and perhaps find some real friendship along the way. Watch highlights of Conan, Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley chatting with celebrities and meeting fans, along with special segments like “Review the Reviewers” and “Big Dick History.”
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[@BlueHooloovoo]

What I love most is that every member of the main cast of TNG are not only great friends, they hang out all the time. They are truly a crew, and thank goodness for that.

[@trouty606]

I know they're actors and TV shows/movies are just jobs, but I'm such a sucker for when the cast truly connect and stay friends after the fact. It's just so wholesome and makes me enjoyment of rewatching it that much higher. It was so funny hearing about "The Delta Flyers" podcast, where Robert Duncan McNeill and Garrett Wang hang out and talk about every episode of Voyager because they're good friends to this day.

[@aurorajones8481]

Galaxy Quest cant say that!

[@aurorajones8481]

I mean in meta they do... but in reality like TNG they dont.

[@karadan100]

@@trouty606 I've had many jobs in my life but only one where i've continued to see my colleagues way after I finished that role. It was a science position in a lab, of which i've had many, but this particular group of five people just gelled. I guess it's just a chance thing. You choose your friends but not your colleagues and in this case, the stars aligned and we all became fast friends. So much so, other people in the organisation called us The Crew... 22 years later and we all still get together every year for a giant family BBQ. It's great.

[@mertyertugrul]

The "thank you" said by Sir Patrick Stewart at the end of the clip is very genuine.

[@Skrimpy79]

Acting.

[@Cnith]

That was a heart warming "Thank you" at the end there. Good talk. A lot of us could benefit from "unclenching" in our lives. I find it difficult to do, with anxiety constantly screaming in the back of my head, to clench for control.

[@AdamThorton]

"I mustn't leave anybody out!" *Leaves out Wil Wheaton*

[@AngMoKio8]

Also noticed that. But he for sure didn't do that on purpose.

[@zazaranger5]

Hwil Hweaton😂

[@SkepticalCaveman]

Stut up, Wesley!

[@zazaranger5]

@@SkepticalCaveman Wesley Crusher the Jar Jar Binks of the Star Trek universe 🤪

[@idesof]

​@@zazaranger5Exactly!

[@i.am.adrian]

Captain Picard taught ten-year-old me about being a good leader, a good friend, and a good person. Here's a character who shoulders immense responsibility, the lives of hundreds of his crew, and he tackles problems by weighing options, using logic, and considering the expert opinions of his advisors, without making impossible demands of them. Work the problem with your team, don't just expect others to fix it. And he questioned authority when he thought they were wrong. And he cared about the life forms who did not enjoy all of the advantages he was given by the technology and might of Star Fleet. That's a leader. He interacted with his crew and other life forms with patience, he actively listened, he had immense empathy. He gave advice freely, offering his wisdom and experience to those who asked, even if he didn't always get it right, his words always came from a place of selflessness and genuine support. That's a good friend. And he was always a curious person. Even at his age, he was still excited to learn, to grow, to expand his own knowledge, and the growth of his crew, whether it's young Wesley, or ever-growing Data, he taught them that being smart wasn't everything, that being human was more than knowledge, it was giving to others, keeping an open mind, a strong but gentle heart, and empathy for those different from yourself. That's a good person. I took those lessons to heart, and even now, 30 years later, I still think back fondly on his words and actions. Was it just a TV show? Of course. But it taught this kid to be curious, be patient, have empathy for everyone, especially those who are different, and to try my hardest but never take things too seriously. Thanks, Captain Picard. Thank you, Sir Patrick.

[@coppersnare]

Fantastic comment. Very well written 👍

[@tomferguson9250]

And he always took failures & shortcomings with grace, whether it was himself or others. My favorite quote of his will always be "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness, that is life."

[@NH-ly7zc]

I’m pretty sure he demanded engineering fix everything in less time and never worked with them to fix it 😂

[@metacob]

Very well put. To me Picard will always be for what it would look like if a person with a lot of responsibility, power and authority actually was up to the task. I've seen too many people just wanting power but ignoring their responsibility, saying over and over how professional and trustworthy they are (always a red flag) but not acting like it at all, dismissing people with different opinions out of hand. In modern fiction, characters somehow must be flawed to the point of incompetence, just to maximize the drama. This gets especially weird in sci-fi, when it's always a group of people with the emotional maturity of 12 year olds are crammed into a space ship and then get up to reality show level hijinks. In TNG, you get a rare opportunity to see a team of professionals. They still have their flaws, they go through personal crises that affect their work, they have disputes, but they never lose sight of their common goals and you get to see them work really well as a team. And that includes their leader! It's so easy to just rely on a very flawed leader to generate stories with a lot of drama, because in that position you can do a lot of damage. It's much harder to write a competent leader, and also to portray this person with both dignity and humanity.

[@FablestoneSeries]

I've worked on sets where all the actors goof off endlessly and it DOES slow things down and it DOES, at times, aggravate the crew. But usually it is a complete blast.

[@hellomark1]

On another podcast, Frakes talks about how much of a blast it is, when they're like that, because they're clowning right up until the word "action." But then sometimes he has to turn around and direct these same clowns and that can be a challenge :)

[@TolstoyPlastic]

Conan always turns into a 1920's radio presenter when he does the commercial bits. :)

[@tomferguson9250]

Love Stewart's humility & how he approaches different roles. He really felt like a captain in the show - a father-figure, teacher, mentor & disciplinarian while being respectful of everyone. Plus I love his & McKellen's relationship after the X-Men movies, it's like Sir Patrick has the Midas touch of bringing joy to everyone he meets.

[@chrisluckhardt]

1:50 - "I haven't told it to many people." ...Patrick isn't aware of how legendary this story has become over the years. The rest of the cast has relayed it in many convention videos I've watched that have millions of views.

[@lawrencehodge6273]

Actors like Stewart, Kate Mulgrew from Star Trek Voyager and Avery Brooks from Star Trek Deep Space Nine show why you should always hire stage actors for roles like that. Premier examples of their craft.

[@jonedinger6344]

Part of it is that the bridge on these ships has a similar layout to a stage in some ways.

[@mediocreman2]

Don't know about Kate, but the other two yes.

[@MontyPilkington42]

William Shatner from The Original Series was also a Shakespearean actor.

[@QuestoPiccoloKaiju]

@@mediocreman2If you don’t know about Kate, you don’t know acting.

[@lewstone5430]

DS-9 is overrated imo, as is Brooks as Sisko, although I know he has a large following. I’ve seen Brooks in other things and he’s really good so maybe it was just the direction/writing.

[@JoshColletta]

As I recall from the way other Star Trek cast members have told it, the other half of the "too much fun" story is that by the time he had sufficiently loosened up, he became the most notorious cut-up on the set! 😆

[@johnking5174]

Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard will always be my captain of the Enterprise - yes, everyone gets misty eyed, rose tinted specs of Shatner's Kirk - but for me, Patrick's Jean-Luc Picard just surpassed Shatner's James T Kirk by miles in terms of acting and performance. He will always be my captain.

[@connycontainer9459]

The ranking of Captains is pretty clear to everyone. Also he's actually my captain, you can have Sisko or Janeway.

[@robmartin9782]

Same here

[@1986Unlimited]

My captain as well.

[@florete2310]

*Same*

[@TheBalls2thewalls]

Yep. Stewart is like Stone Cold Steve Austin to Shatner's Hulk Hogan.

[@andrewbairstow8600]

Love the way Patrick looks & engages all the podcast team 😊

[@terrylong8894]

Patrick Stewart really should have won an Emmy for his body of work on Star Trek. Some of it is genuinely brilliant.

[@madscientist8286]

He did not? :O I am in shock! :O

[@davidwaldo3141]

@@madscientist8286 Nimoy got a best supporting actor nomination during TOS. After that, no Trek actor was ever nominated for an acting role, and most Emmy nominations the show did get were of the costume/hair/makeup variety. The Emmys have never really taken science fiction seriously.

[@madscientist8286]

Very sad. :( Thank you for the explanation!@@davidwaldo3141

[@MrKevin486]

The TNG Picard is just legendary. His speeches are amazing.

[@PJ20091000]

Sir Patrick Stewart is funny as hell on American Dad😂😂😂

[@MackovaDraga]

Conan was beautifully genuine here

[@CompoundNihilist]

Conan is an adept, incisive interviewer and does so in a very patient, gentle way.

[@somarriba333]

I LOVE Patrick Stewart. I remember we would talk about who we would want in a live action X-men movie back then and we said Patrick Stewart as Xavier and we were SO happy he got the role. The next thing we hoped for is Patrick Stewart as Mr. Freeze in a Batman movie. That never happened. Now I want to see him in comedies. He's great in Family Guy and in American Dad.

[@LukeLovesRose]

Jean Luc Picard is the most diplomatic captain or character in all of Star Trek. Patrick was brilliant. As you would expect aboard a ship, the rest of the players were on point when Patrick spoke. You can see that he was leading the whole cast to greatness. I wonder if he did the same thing with Prof X.

[@jac1207]

Podcast format is DEFINITELY a major step up from Night Show "interview" format. So much more time to dive deep and have an actual conversation, a lot less limits of time and studio executives. Sure, podcasts don't pay as much and has less job security as a slot on TV, but for the audience, it's very rewarding.

[@kennethlauer4735]

Sir Patrick did the absolute best version of "A Christmas Carol"

[@LukeLovesRose]

1951

[@gregsquire9704]

Stewart did a one man stage show of Dickens Christmas Carol. Both it and the version you mentioned, he insisted on being as close to the book as possible.

[@lazlopanaflex1004]

I can’t get over how he looks now exactly like ‘Future Picard’ did in All Good Things’ Hollywood never gets that right, but here he is. I’m expecting him to start tying vines in his vineyard.

[@davidh.3942]

I noticed that as well. The only other celeb that comes close is Max Von Sydow in his twilight years, who looked very similar to Father Merrin in The Exorcist

[@stefantansson]

He should have looked like this in season 3 of Picard

[@mastermill79]

Sejanus, Picard, Xavier and Avery. I've loved this man for decades. Live long and prosper Sir Patrick Stewart, you giant among giants!

[@dkr0496]

He’s the captain of my generation

[@bqvideo]

One of Sir Patrick's best parts is of the aging Professor X in Logan.

[@Podok86]

No human such as this will ever be again. His as such, is as a being of such reflection, of what we know from the before, what we know now, and also what could be. In perfect harmony, the all of them.

[@justrosy5]

Totally shared! Thanks for having Sir Pat on your podcast and posting it here!

[@Zorg2006]

It seems to me that his strict professionalism and the others' fun approach actually complemented each other. He learned to relax, which helped his performance, and in turn they learned from a truly great actor.

[@1986Unlimited]

It was a good decision to allow Jean Luc to open up. The character development was awesome.

[@cloudwatcher608]

Yeah, he says that he doesn't like his performance in the first season but I think it just shows his development as he grows to think of the crew as not simply his subordinates, but as his family.

[@MMaRsu]

Which character development? Picard was trash.

[@trouty606]

@@MMaRsu The *show* Picard is trash. The *character* Picard from TNG was not.

[@trouty606]

Everyone understandably loves The Best of Both Worlds, but I feel like the immediate follow up episode Family is sorely underappreciated. Stewart gets an amazing performance in that where he visits his brother on the Picard family vineyard back on Earth while recovering from his Borg experience.

[@1986Unlimited]

@@trouty606 Indeed. I loved that episode and the way it humanized Picard and showed the audience his vulnerabilities and how much of a front he puts up to conceal those vulnerabilities from his crew. The only person who had the ability to draw it out of him is his Brother; probably why he returned home as well. Helped Picard become the Captain he eventually becomes.

[@OuTSMOKE]

You know you're a GOAT when Conan asks you a straight question and just sits there listening to the answer for that long.

[@MurseSamson]

What a Complete Legend. 🏆🥇 🎖️ 🎭

[@bestfrankforever]

I have absolutely loved watching him become a fun, sillier, man over the years. TNG Bloopers just get better every season. Hosting SNL! Him and his wife dressing him as a lobster in the bathtub! His relationship with Ian McKellan. I love him so much.

[@jaybo4999]

Stewart and Conan are two.... just good people.

[@CavemanSynthesizer]

I like that the writers and actors took the Star Trek premises seriously. A lot of great actors passed through that show and brought that Shakespearean tint to the roles.

[@adamcoe]

i really like how much these people really like each other

[@CrystalAce2]

I love this man. Well, both of them, actually. Great interview, Conan!

[@neuvocastezero1838]

It's always a treat seeing interviews with The Picard.

[@MattAlbie]

How hilarious that he left out Wesley.

[@FablestoneSeries]

and tasa yar, who was as i recall, was the one who responded to his request and told him they HAVE to have fun.

[@jag173]

As he should

[@mavfan1]

The series would have been better without Wesley.

[@Tao_Tology]

"Shut up -Meg- Wesley!"

[@troletrain]

Wesley added nothing of value to the show. He got wayyy too much screen time.

[@KD-sz5bx]

My favorite episode from next generations will forever be the measure of a man. Sir Patrick stewards monologue in the episode made me weep.

[@Omegatonboom]

Best Late Show personality with the Greatest Starfleet captain. I am moved.

[@moe47988]

“He hasn’t said this to many people” except at every convention for 20 years, plus the millions of people on youtube that have heard this story

[@HypnoSwag]

I don't care what anyone says, Picard is the superior Captain.

[@Pintheshadows]

Sisko punched Q in the face.

[@tonypaella]

​@@The-Secret-Doorto me captain kangaroo is the man

[@viktormuerte]

And for me, the greatest Star Trek episode ever is still City On The Edge of Tomorrow.

[@rockabye274]

​@@viktormuerteYep. And Shatner is certainly very good in that one. Many of the best story ideas for TOS were subsequently recycled in TNG, Voyager, DS9, Enterprise, etc.

[@sadev101]

loved that last part immense

[@florete2310]

I grew up with that Captain at the helm. I wouldn't miss one single episode. Still love the Star Trek Next Gen crew, they were such a great cast. And not only that, the new Picard series is pretty terrific, too. Definitely one of the most prolific branches of the franchise these days👍

[@andremarc1275]

great guest... and ty Conan for what you do... you help me with your humor and intelligence.

[@Bane97659]

I think the reason one gets looser can simply be that you get more natural with experience, so that letting go is basically a natural progression (or can be) in any profession.

[@KaryudoDS]

Patrick not happy with his work on the first season, the rest of us just not happy with the first season. It was sort of amazing how much TNG grew after that. That dedication to making it better really showed.

[@starwarstheme1]

Dude we had seen him in Dune and Excalibur before that

[@EddieHenderson92]

The beard takes a decade off.

[@PlasmaCoolantLeak]

Sir Pat looking and sounding great, rocking that beard👍

[@lachauntiswashington231]

Very good 👍

[@andrewcoulthard-clark]

In a 1992 interview with Asenio Hall, he was asked where was he during the riots, and he remarked he was oblivious to it all, as he was in a little cabin by a lake. In the book, it's revealed he went up to the cabin to consider his marriage, after an affair with a co-star. Apparently, he returned to LA to a livid Paramount, who'd been frantically trying to check in on him.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Everything but the product schilling in this video is excellent content. 🙂

[@curtjunky]

Long live Sir Patrick Stewart! 🖖

[@IamCaptainDeadpo0l]

Captain on the bridge!

[@objectivechristian8441]

I care little or celebrities. I care even less to meet any. Patrick Stewart is the exception to that. I love that guy. He has true compassion for others. He's an honorable guy. Oh Captain My Captain!

[@FlameMage2]

Where's the link to WATCH the full podcast??????????

[@devonbrockhaus6554]

Old man Patrick and Conan. 😊

[@paulicke3483]

The Royal Shakespeare company aye,I live an hour's drive to there,me & my family will be down Stratford upon Avon shopping for Christmas 😃🎄

[@PotentialLegend]

Awwwwwww

[@Stefan-]

The Picard !

[@City-Hunter]

"Ensign, Engage!"

[@MauricedelPrado]

I distinctly remember, when ST:NG first aired, and I watched the first few episodes, thinking "Oh, this old captain will get killed off in the first season and the young guy (Riker) will become captain". Thank God I was wrong.

[@heddingite]

Oh my god he looks just like the future version of him from "All Good Things". like woah!!!

[@MrManultra]

Oh Captain my Captain

[@Mellowcanuck33]

"What does this say of an Empire who holds honor so dear?"

[@amang1001]

THERE ARE 4 LIGHTS!!!!!

[@superamario6464]

Shut up, Wesley

[@ScottMcMaster-er4xj]

Conan should be on TV again.

[@madscientist8286]

Nah, but on the Internetz or Paramount+ or so!

[@uncleflansy5621]

45-46? Holy crap, I'm only two years younger than Captain Picard. When did that happen?

[@justtwobrotherspokemon]

I don't have a car, don't listen to radio, Hate paying subscriptions but often I'll find myself wanting to get Sirius radio just to hear more then what we hear on KZbin

[@Rakkasan11b]

I love how laid back Stewart is, that he gives you that feel you could be such good friends with him and have such fantastic conversations. Yet...he also gives you that feel that one simple wrong word could make him SNAP and go off on you, all in a span of 1 min.

[@DangerousDavies2008]

I’ve heard that story about 1000 times.

[@jadziadax5365]

Captain Jonathan Archer -the Diplomat/Solider Captain James T Kirk-Ladies Man/Cowboy Captain Benjamin Sisko -the Emissary/Soldier Captain Jean Luc Picard - the Warrior/ Philosopher /Diplomat Captain Katherine Janeway - Warrior/ Diplomat/ Scientist

[@MrAndy9572ac]

I hate that Kirk is always labeled "Ladys man" the amount of times he stood fast on morals and put himself in danger to safe guard his crew. ST2 he tells Khan to take him and spare his crew.... Much more than just ladies man ....

[@voldlifilm]

He beards-up really well.

[@tormuse2916]

2:02 Wil Wheaton: "Am I a joke to you?"

[@Boomforce]

He is.

[@infinity2z3r07]

he was child off doing homework most of the time

[@troletrain]

'Shut up, Wesley!'

[@BigJimboSlade]

Bla ha ha that is all I could think about when he was running through the list of names.

[@davidmonaghan26]

Speaking of Shakespeare they recently found William Shakespeare's pencil.....but he chewed the end of it so can't tell if it's a 2B or not 2B

[@Ambienfinity]

Every time I think about TNG I think about 'The Hidden Light' episode, and how it surpasses Science Fiction, or any other genre, and is just ..... high art.

[@DichotomousRex]

Notice the one crew member he DIDN'T mention :D

[@Phoenix-nl2ut]

The next generation was awesome

[@peligroy2k]

Legends!!!

[@tteros5998]

Ah, finally evolving into the bearded Picard we saw in "All Good Things".

[@jimmyjam86]

Hey Conan O Brien, it's me. I just wanted to reach out to say that I'm a big fan. If you are EVER in the NW suburban Chicago area, I will wash you car, for free. Exterior only. I know what you're thinking, "This guy is crazy!?" but no, I'm not crazy. I'm just a very rich man; not because I have a lot of money, which I do, but I have such great people around me for who I wash their cars in my vast free time. So again, if you ever need your car washed, in a very limited area of Chicagoland, free of charge, you know who to call. Me.

[@MorgorDre]

Again: Thanks to THIS Jean-Luc Picard, THIS Star Trek shapes your morale compass. Without this shakespearian actor, star trek would have just been a wild west story in sci-fi setting.

[@tinytanks]

they need to make a medieval/fantasy movie where patrick stewart can play an aged king pronto while they still can.

[@shephusted2714]

Khan!!!!! team coco 24 vice presidential vetting process

[@alexandriaocasio-smollett5078]

It’s comical to see every single one of these shows slowly turn themselves into a carbon copy of Joe Rogan Experience

[@GreenCloudArtOrg420]

Conan turning into Howard Stern 😂

[@augurseer]

Janeway is my captain. But Picard I can always love.

[@caseyclausen2627]

I remember watching the premiere of Voyager in my family's apartment. Sitting at the dining room table, watching on a small 13" Mitsubishi TV. To think that was in 1995 is difficult to comprehend.

[@Drcragory]

That's all well and good, but did he pull the sword from the stone in Excalibur? I didn't think so.

[@kadzait72]

The most English French man ever.

[@sourabhkarmakar8040]

This is the first time I'm seeing him in beards.

[@moses0686]

Its Sisko and Picard for me.

[@MultiIDK1234]

JLP is a goated captain

[@PopeLando]

Big disappointment in this having covered Shakespeare, Star Trek and the X-Men is they didn't talk about Patrick's work for Seth MacFarlane and the extreme things those guys have gotten him to say 😂😂

[@biggains1]

Thats because thats not his voice in American Dad, as much as people want to believe it, Patrick Stewart has done no work for those shows, js.

[@ethanpelletier9998]

@@biggains1 American Dad! (TV Series 2005- ) - Patrick Stewart as Avery Bullock per IMDB

[@duncan1674]

@@biggains1How can you say something with such confidence and be so utterly wrong lmao. Did you just pull that out of your ass?

[@PopeLando]

​@@biggains1It says "Patrick Stewart" in the end credits whenever he's in it.

[@mediocreman2]

​@@biggains1Do you always just make stuff up or is that just this comment? It takes 1 second to recognize his voice and delivery in that show.

[@seanwebb605]

Salt and Peppa!

[@aaronhowell1132]

"Enhance, enhance... enhance...hmm...enhance." _Captain Picard when the Enterprise was scanning planet Tittypanties.

[@forx88]

I will be on a hunger strike until Conan releases these podcasts in full video format

[@stevencramsie9172]

In fairness, I listened to the entire Harrison Ford audio and then watched the clips and if you put all the clips together? They pretty much cover 98% of the session. So it’s all pretty much here.

[@wchrisg0528]

Look at sona and mark absolutely rapt

[@erhardtharris8727]

Is he gonna say it? When's he gonna say it?..... ..... "We Are Not Here To Have Fun!" Oh, wait, it's "And The Problem Is: we are having too much fun!" [while everyone else is working & there's all this work to be done.]