10 Star Trek Moments You Never Knew Were Improvised
5. Old Friends Hug - The Impossible Box
Jonathan Del Arco, who played Hugh, revealed on his Twitter page that the hug between Jean-Luc Picard and Hugh was not in the original script. It was devised by Patrick Stewart and himself just prior to filming, adding an emotional beat to the scene that had been just lacking that extra piece beforehand.
Picard's arrival on the Artefact, the Borg Cube that the Romulan Reclamation Project has made their home, spurs a series of disturbing flashbacks. Naturally, he sees images of Locutus of Borg, the drone he was forced to become in The Best of Both Worlds. He also sees horrific images from Star Trek: First Contact as well. This causes him to become disorientated and frightened.
It is a heartbreaking scene, showing the changes that the man has gone through in the twenty years between Nemesis and Picard. Whereas in First Contact, he was full of rage at the prospect of facing the Borg, he now has little energy left to deal with them. Hugh's arrival then saves him not just from his nightmares but from some of his latent fears of the Collective as well. This is summed up beautifully in the hug, showing that both actors knew exactly what the scene needed to make it just right.