Patrick Stewart: Making It So

You might disagree about who is the best Star Trek captain. Many say Kirk and a vocal few would say Sisco, but I don’t think many people would disagree that the best actor to play a Star Trek captain is Patrick Stewart. His memoir “Making it So” describes his long road from a poor childhood in northern England to being the captain of the  Enterprise and beyond. 

Patrick Stewart’s Childhood 

To me, the most fascinating part of the book is its opening sections detailing his childhood. His family lived in a small 3-room house with no hot water or indoor toilets. They bathed once per week in a tub with water heated on the stove, which Stewart would have to manually siphon into the drain when finished. He assures the reader that he will brush his teeth afterward.

They had no refrigeration, so perishables were kept in the basement to keep cool, under mesh wire to keep the flies out. Unfortunately, the basement was also where coal was dumped for heating, so they would have to wash the coal dust off their food before eating. For some reason, he was not allowed in his bedroom until bedtime, and as the radio was always on in the common room, he would often spend hours sitting alone in the outhouse reading.

Patrick Stewart’s Childhood Home

Despite their poverty, Stewart had a happy childhood home until his father came back from World War 2.  Alfred Stewart was a highly decorated paratrooper who never found much success in civilian life.  He was stern but stable during the work week, but became a violent drunk on the weekends, frequently beating his wife, once knocking her unconscious with a coffee mug. Stewart describes anxious nights waiting up with his brother, listening at the bottom of the stairs to see what kind of mood his father would be in when he got home. Sometimes relatively placid, sometimes obviously itching for a fight. He credits his older brother Geoffrey for eventually standing up to his father and stopping the worst of the violence.

Patrick Stewart’s Departure from School

Patrick Stewart’s journey into the world of acting was anything but conventional. Leaving school at the young age of fifteen, he first dabbled in journalism, working as a reporter for a local newspaper. This job had him bicycling around town, engaging with local gossips, and conducting interviews with families for obituaries – a task that, while somber, helped him develop a keen sense of observation and empathy. Stewart then transitioned to selling furniture, a job that might seem mundane but was integral in shaping his work ethic and interpersonal skills.

Interestingly, Stewart attributes the shapeliness of his legs, a feature that has garnered many compliments over the years, to his extensive bicycling during this early period of his life. Parallel to these jobs, Stewart’s passion for acting never waned. He was actively involved in local theater productions and attended acting seminars, honing his craft outside the confines of traditional education. This dedication to acting, coupled with his diverse life experiences, enriched his understanding and portrayal of characters. At the age of 17, Stewart’s commitment and talent were recognized when he received a grant from his county council, enabling him to attend acting school. This opportunity marked the beginning of his formal training in the craft he loved and set him on the path to becoming the celebrated actor he is today. Stewart’s early years, characterized by a blend of diverse jobs and a persistent pursuit of acting, laid a unique foundation for his illustrious career.

Patrick Stewart’s Role in the Royal Shakespeare Company

The bulk of this book is dedicated to his time in acting school and as a player in the Royal Shakespeare Company. If you’re reading just to get an inside look at The production of The Next Generation, this portion might prove tedious, but I found his journey from a local acting wunderkind to a respected Shakespearean actor interesting, especially as the years went by and he found himself falling short of landing the true leading roles he desperately wanted. 

Throughout much of his career, he was plagued by doubts and feelings of anxiety, surprising to see from an actor known for portraying such confident authority figures. His career was at a standstill when he was cast in the role that would bring him fame, fortune, and the kinds of stage roles he had always dreamed of: Captain Jean Luc Picard.

Patrick Stewart’s Transition from State Actor to TV Personality 

The transition from a primarily stage actor who landed occasional film and TV roles to the leading star in a major TV production was a major one for Stewart, and he tells some funny stories about the small indignities he suffered as a relative unknown, as well as his growing realization of the size and intensity of the Star Trek fandom, of which he was almost totally ignorant before he was cast. He mentions that he rewatched the entire series in preparation for writing this book, so I do wish he spent more time reflecting on individual episodes he found interesting. Two episodes that he does single out remain special to him because of their guest stars: his own son in “The Inner Light”, and David Warner, his hero from the London Stage as Cardassian interrogator/torturer Gul Madred in the episode “Chain of Command.”

Though Stewart is proud of his many acting accomplishments, he doesn’t shy away from detailing his many regrets. His first two marriages ended due to his infidelity, severely affecting his relationships with his two children, Daniel and Sophia, and he admits that his daughter has never really forgiven him. More disturbingly, he recalls that when he was a child, he and a group of friends used to bully a fellow student with a deformed hand, forcing him to punch a brick wall until it bled.

He also recounts with embarrassment a story famous to Star Trek fans in which early on in production he attempted to lecture the cast on taking their roles more seriously and to stop screwing around on set. He now regrets the pompous way in which he went about the whole situation, and credits Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner for helping him lighten up throughout the show’s run.  It worked.  I think he deserves credit for the fact that the Next Generation cast remains the closest of all the Star Trek casts. William Shatner had a very rocky relationship with Leonard Nimoy, and James Doohan and George Takei outright hated him.  By the end of the Voyager series, Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan could barely stand to be in the same room. Stewart never seems to have engendered that kind of animosity from his cast mates.

As I’ve said, Stage acting is Stewart’s true love, and he credits Star Trek with giving him the chance to do the true starring roles that he had never landed beforehand. He recounts with pride how his famous one-man version of A Christmas Carol, a yearlong role as Macbeth, and his pairing with Ian McKellan in Waiting for Godot came about. If you get a chance, listen to the studio album version of his “Christmas Carol,” it’s very good.

Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Other Minor Roles

Patrick Stewart’s role as Professor X in the X-Men movies is most notable for him in that it was where his friendship with McKellan, whom he had known casually for years, truly began. He’s also clearly and correctly most proud of his and Hugh Jackman’s work in the movie Logan.

Still, given how he has time to recall seemingly every acting class and stage role he’s ever played, there are some notable gaps in his recollections. No mention is made of his memorable scene as soviet spymaster Karla opposite Alec Guinness in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, nor his role as Lenin in “Fall of Eagles.” The only one of those classic 70’s British miniseries that does get a mention is his turn as Sejanus in “I, Claudius,” and that is mainly because it starred his friend from childhood acting camp Brian Blessed, who played Caesar Augustus.  He also doesn’t mention the excellent thriller Green Room, in which he plays a murderous Neo-Nazi in probably his best villainous role.  

I would like to have heard anything he had to say about Anton Yelchin, who played Chekhov in the new Star Trek movies and died in 2016 in a freak car accident. Even his Shakespearean BBC productions of recent years get no mention, including his turn as Claudius opposite David Tennant in Hamlet, and as John of Gaunt in a fantastic version of Richard the Second with Ben Whishaw.

Patrick Stewart’s Discomfort on Dune 

One experience that Patrick Stewart often recalls with a sense of discomfort, and which he has discussed at length in various interviews, is his challenging time during the filming of the 1984 science fiction epic ‘Dune.’ Directed by the renowned David Lynch, the film was a complex and ambitious project. However, Stewart’s casting as Gurney Halleck was reportedly not Lynch’s first choice. This apparent mismatch between director and actor cast a shadow over Stewart’s experience on set. Lynch, known for his distinct directorial style and clear vision for his projects, made no secret of his displeasure with Stewart being cast in the role. 

This tension was palpable during the production, affecting the atmosphere on set and leaving a lasting impression on Stewart. Despite the difficulties, Stewart delivered a memorable performance, but the experience underscored the complexities of actor-director dynamics in Hollywood, especially in high-stakes, big-budget films. Stewart’s reflection on this period not only highlights the challenges he faced but also sheds light on the often unseen pressures and interpersonal dynamics that can occur behind the scenes of major film productions.”

Patrick Stewart and Ghosts?

Patrick Stewart’s memoir is imbued with a consistently light and often humorous tone, despite delving into various extraordinary experiences from his life. Among these intriguing tales, Stewart recounts several encounters with what he believes to be ghosts, adding an almost mystical quality to his narrative. These spectral encounters are not the only brush with the supernatural he describes. He amusingly notes that multiple women have told him that he exudes a certain supernatural aura, a claim that adds to the quirky charm of his stories. Perhaps the most bizarre and amusing anecdote he shares is about the peculiar incident that happened the morning after he lost his virginity. 

In a turn of events that sounds almost like a comedic script, Stewart found that his legs were inexplicably not functioning correctly. This resulted in a comical yet bewildering experience where he staggered through the town, his movements erratic and uncontrollable, culminating in a collapse inside a coffee shop. This story, told with Stewart’s characteristic wit, prompts laughter and disbelief, making it a memorable highlight of his book. These tales, blending the ordinary with the extraordinary, provide a unique and entertaining insight into Stewart’s life, demonstrating his ability to find humor and peculiarity in life’s most unexpected moments.

Patrick Stewart’s Life After Star Trek

While his stage career post-Star Trek was clearly the most professionally rewarding time of his life, he admits that personally, he was in a very low place. His second marriage had ended, and he became terribly lonely. During his run as Macbeth, his life consisted of performing in the evening, drinking alone the rest of the night, and then spending the next day recovering from his hangovers, waiting to go back onstage.  

This changed for him when he met Sunny Ozell, to whom he has been married for the past ten years. She is a much younger woman, and he recognizes how that may look to some people, but the sense I got from his description of their relationship is that he has found genuine happiness. I say good for him. Though well into his 80s by now, he’s still working steadily, and is bemused by the increasing number of comedic roles he has been offered so late in his career, from the animated show American Dad to  a sitcom called “Blunt Talk.” It’s a feel-good ending to a remarkable life.