15 Star Trek Actors Who Directed Episodes
2. Patrick Stewart - Captain Picard
Patrick Stewart is generally considered to be one of the finest, if not the finest, actors to appear on any Star Trek. His commanding presence, powerful voice, and Shakespearean training MADE Captain Picard. In addition, Stewart put his extensive stage experience to use as director of five episodes of TNG.
Reviewing Stewart's acting history would fill several paragraphs. He started out in classical theatre, playing virtually every lead role Shakespeare ever penned.
He moved into TV and movies starting in the seventies. He was asked to audition first for the part of Data for TNG, but his presence and performance convinced the producers he was their Picard. Stewart is also well-known for playing Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men series, and in his later life has found a new niche as a very funny voiceover artist.
Of the five episodes Stewart directed, he claims two as his favourite. 'In Theory', which involved a love story between Data and a human female, was Stewart's first; he was grateful that it was a simple character-focused story. 'A Fistful of Datas', a Western parody, involved location shooting on a stereotypical 'Old West' set, which Stewart said was the most fun he had while directing.