Ok, Patrick Stewart, aka Gurney Halleck, was a solid choice for Capt. Jean Luc Picard. But what if he wasn't available? I understand he didn't even particularly want the role.Question: Who would you cast as Jean Luc Picard other than Patrick Stewart?
Scott's Answer: This was a tough one for me but after doing a little thinking and digging, I came across Patrick Bauchau, a Belgian actor best known in this country for his work on The Pretender and Carnivàle. He's one of those guys who's not a Movie Star, but an actual Actor. I've seen him many times (Panic Room, A View to a Kill, etc.) but I just didn't know it was him. Ironically, a cursory glance at his IMDb page reveals that he played a character with the last name "Picard" in the awful movie 2012. Small world!
Andrew's Answer: I'm going to go with an actual Frenchman for the role of our French captain, and a personal favorite of mine, Tchéky Karyo. Karyo was excellent in the otherwise silly The Core and in the excellent Luc Besson film La Femme Nikita. And my favorite role for him, oddly, was in Wing Commander. He's French, which is a plus when playing a Frenchman, he's got solid screen presence, and I think he would have brought the right combination of Earthiness, likeability, and sophistication.
William Shatner!
ReplyDeleteI heard he's Canadian but I think he could pull it off.
Wait...does he still hafta be French with an English accent?
Runner up will be: Bean. Hey, it would be hilarious! Think about it.
Okay, I'll be serious. Jean Reno. He has the chops, the charisma, and he's tough.
I go with Pepe le pew. How do I know that he would be great? Simple: What ever position he takes, you know he is going to stink. Just like you know whatever liberal position Jean Luc Picard takes, it will stink as well.
ReplyDeleteBen -
ReplyDeleteGood choice with Jean Reno though, as weird as it sounds, I can't see him as Picard BUT I can see him playing a French version of Kirk. It's a subtle variation but that was my first impression when I read your post.
Joel -
ReplyDelete(sigh) As long as you can find a spot for Daffy Duck, too, I'll be happy. :-)
This question is so out of left-field. I have no answers ready for this. I'll get back after some thinking.
ReplyDeleteExcellent choices. And great choice by Ben too!
ReplyDeleteIf I could have anyone, how about Sean Connery?
DUQ -
ReplyDeleteThey actually wanted Sean Connery to play Spock's half-brother Sybok in Star Trek V but he was unavailable (and I doubt he would've done it anyway). But in any case, that's why the planet is called Sha Ka Ree. :-)
tryanmax -
ReplyDeleteNo rush! This question is one of the few where I didn't immediate respond to Andrew. I had to give him the old "I'll get back to you" routine.
Scott, I had no idea! Sha Ka Ree. Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteThanks DUQ! I think Sean Connery is a great choice too!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Scott and Andrew's choices are good. I'm just not familiar with those actors.
Ben, Shatner! LOL! Bean? You mean Mr. Bean or Sean Bean?
ReplyDeleteJoel, With the healing power of modern CGI we can actually insert Pepe Le Pu into the new BluRay version! :)
ReplyDeleteI also suggest we change the Klingons do Tasmanian Devils and Worf to Yosemite Sam.
Scott and Ben, Honestly, I can't see Jean Reno either. He's one of my favorite actors, but I don't see him as well-suited for the role.
ReplyDeleteMr. Bean, Andrew. Steven Wright would also be an...interesting choice, LOL.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: perhaps you and Scott are right. Reno is much too manly for the role. :^)
ReplyDeleteBen, Mr. Bean would be awesome! That would give the entire series a whole new complexion!
ReplyDeleteScott, There's always room for Daffy. I'm thinking the engine room.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Take your time. I thought this was an interesting question actually.
ReplyDeleteDUQ, Interesting choice! That would have truly raised the stature of the show. I wonder what it would have taken to get him to participate?
ReplyDeleteScott, I never knew that. Cool. So Sha Ka Ree was Sean Conner Ry. Neat!
ReplyDeleteScott and tryanmax, Interestingly, I had an answer almost immediately on this one. Often, I need to think about these things, but not this time.
ReplyDeleteBen, That's it! Actually, I see Reno as more of a dramatic actor who does a lot of darker roles. Picard is almost too fluffy for him.
ReplyDeleteBen, LOL! I'm not sure why Reno wouldn't fit, but he just doesn't seem to. Maybe it's because the things he's in are usually more dramatic (as DUQ says) or they are somehow more punchy. I'm not sure. Maybe it's because he's normally more of a loner whenever I've seen him on film and this role needs someone who is more of a team player?
ReplyDeleteThose are actually really good choice. I used to love The Pretender. I don't know if I have a choice, but I'll think about it and get back to you.
ReplyDeleteHmm. It's an intriguing question. I really don;t know many British or French actors by name. So:
ReplyDeleteTerry O’Quinn comes to mind; he played Riker’s former CO in the 7th season episode “The Pegasus”, and did a darn fine job of it, too.
Also: John M. Jackson, who played Admiral Chedweggen on JAG, or the late Trevor Goddard, an Aussie born in England playing an Aussie lawyer on JAG.
Thanks Ellen! I also think they're great choices. I could absolutely see either. :) And I too enjoyed "The Pretender."
ReplyDeleteThis was a toughy so I took a three pronged approach:
ReplyDelete1) Other actors considered for the role
2) Other Star Trek actors
3) Any actor at all
1) Edward James Olmos reportedly had to turn down the role due to a scheduling conflict. He later took the titular helm of the Battlestar Galactica, and turned in a very worthy performance.
2) John de Lancie as Q antagonized Picard like none other. I don’t know that an all-out role-reversal would fly, but both actors share a particular peevishness that, for good or ill, is a hallmark of the Captain's character.
3a) Lance Reddick is the first person who comes to mind who seems "Picard-esque" enough to do a straight swap--not that it would go unnoticed. Maybe it's because he's held several similarly commanding roles in shows like The Wire and Fringe.
3b)William Fichtner is my more out-there pick. He's one of those great "Oh yeah, that guy" actors. I could easily see him as captain but he would have greatly reshaped the role.
Of course, if one gets too stuck, there's always Gary Oldman who could conceivably play anything.
Scott/Andrew, I like both choices. I think I'm one of few out there that liked Wing Commander. Karyo was one of the reasons.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing they could do is keep Picard's name, and change him into a woman(LOL).
Jean Reno was mentioned, I do like him as an actor. He would give Picard a very different feel. A lot more commanding and very quiet(that would be a lot more fun), but he wouldn't fit the late ST image of a captain.
Stewart was the ideal choice for the role. The other guys mentioned I can't see crying.
I did wonder when they picked Stewart. The only role I remembered him in before STNG was Excalibur. All I thought then was, so we are going to get a lot of yelling.
Big Mo, I've been a big Terry O'Quinn fan for a while. Trevor Goddard died? Huh. I had no idea.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, I don't think I would have liked Oldman, but Olmos is a fascinating choice. I don't think I would have believed he could do it before I saw him on BSG, but now that I've seen him as Adama, I think he would have made a great Picard.
ReplyDeleteJohn de Lancie would have been an excellent choice too. He really had the bearing of a captain and he had a great sense of humor.
Max, I agree about Reno. I think the problem would have been that he doesn't fit with the feel of the show more than anything else.
ReplyDeleteStewart was probably the perfect choice at the time, and he's still an excellent choice. This question wasn't meant to replace him, it was just a curiosity. In terms of roles he had been in, he was in Dune (Gurney Halleck) and Lifeforce before this. Those are where I saw him first.
I'm a fan of Wing Commander as well. It's a fun film.
Andrew - Trevor Goddard sadly died in '03 from a drug overdose.
ReplyDeleteBy the by, if you've never heard Patrick Stewart's one-man stage show of "A Christmas Carol," you should do so this winter.
ReplyDeleteBig Mo, I didn't know that. That's sad.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of Stewart's show, but I've never seen it.
Either of you two every see Patrick Bachau in the little independent gem "The Rapture" with Mimi Rogers? Wow, that movie is one of the most thought-provoking pieces of cinema I have ever seen, dealing with relgion, free will, man's relationship to God and God's plan for humanity.
ReplyDeleteSaw it again a few months ago for the first time in years and it still packs a philisophical wallop. In addition to Bachau there is a pre X-Files David Duchovney as well.
Reno? No way, terrible Attorney General.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like Steven Rea as Jean Luc. I grant you he is from Northern Ireland rather than France, and as someone who did not closely follow TNG, I am not as well versed on Picard's character. That said, my impression is Picard is more the cerebral type vs. Kirk's passionate, macho personality. In that regard, Rea would do quite nicely I think.
ReplyDeleteStephen Rea--my bad on the spelling
ReplyDeletePikeBishop, LOL! Reno was indeed a HORRIBLE Attorney General! Well played!
ReplyDeleteI have not seen Bauchau in "The Rapture," but I've seen him in a couple other things, including Carnivale, and I think he's fantastic.
Jed, Interesting choice. He actually brings to mind Geoffrey Rush, who I like as well, but who I think would not work well as Jean Luc Picard.
ReplyDeleteAny love for Samuel L. Jackson?
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I was a huge Carnivale fan, proved that HBO for a time didn't know its ass from a hole in the ground in terms of quality programming, keeping the insanely overrated Deadwood and greenlighting some insanely stupid Lisa Kudrow vehicle. To this day, this is the "only series" I have bought on DVD.
ReplyDeleteAs far as "The Rapture" goes. I don't often speak in this hyperbole, but watch it NOW! (Oh and 1991 Mimi gets naked in it :-) )
Andrew, I forgot about the the other movies Stewart was in. I did see them, Excalibur was more memorable for me. But then a guy doing it in a suit of armor is very memorable(ugh, CLANK!).
ReplyDeleteI had to look up who else was considered for Picard.
Yaphet Kotto
Roy Thinnes
These guys crying? I don't think so.
I can't help but wonder what could have been. If a strong intelligent leader type was put in the Picard role.
Scott
ReplyDeleteI am afraid Daffy has a prior committment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exa5jVU24RM
PikeBishop, Isn't that the truth! I remember when they cancelled "Carnivale," but then announced the same weak they would renew "Deadwood," which was a total waste of film. I couldn't believe it.
ReplyDeleteCool, I will check out "The Rapture." :)
Max, I like Yahpet Kotto a lot, but I can't see him in this role. He could never do the "soft" parts. Of course, they may have found a different way to write the character or he may have found a different way to act the part if he had gotten it. It's an interesting question?!
ReplyDeleteIndi, That's true, Daffy did have other commitments. LOL!
ReplyDeleteHere's your link: LINK
There are some really great choices above -- even Samuel L. Jackson. ;)
ReplyDeleteyowzah - that's a heckuva question. Which ever of the various choices mentioned would have changed TNG substantially.
ReplyDeleteOK - TNG was late 80s... sooooo, Gerald McRaney. Because as I recall, Simon & Simon should have ended about a season sooner, which would be perfect timing! ;)
Indi -
ReplyDeleteI totally had an in for a Duck Dodgers reference when I made my original comment and I blew it! :-)
Thanks Ellen! Samuel L. would have given the film a slightly different flavor, but it would have been interesting!
ReplyDeletePike -
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought of The Rapture when I mentioned Bauchau. I haven't seen it but, uh, I've seen some stuff from it. Yeah, that's it. ;-)
rlaWTX, That would have been a great choice actually! I like McRaney a lot and I think he could definitely have done justice to the role.
ReplyDeletePlus, we could make the other Simon brother his number 2! :)
I love Jean Reno, but, I'm sorry, he's too scruffy - He is more Kirk than Picard. Daffy is not quite articulate enough - I cannot imagine him saying "Number Two" or "Make it so" without chuckling. Mr. Bean doesn't speak, but Rowan Atkinson could conceivably have pulled off the necessary gravitas of a Starfleet Captain (refer to Blackadder Goes Forth Final Episode). Since I cannot come up with any Frenchman or French-Canadians (fail), I will default back to the UK. Edward Woodward of Breaker Morant I could see in the role. (Plain Canadian possibly Leslie Nielsen). He captained the Poseidon, but not very successfully. I will continue to wrack the brain.
ReplyDeleteFirefly, Woodward would have been an excellent captain. He was great as Morant and he was great as the Equalizer. Good call!
ReplyDeleteTerrence Stamp
ReplyDeleteDavid Suchet- best known for the series "Agatha Christie's Poirot".
ReplyDeleteShawn, An excellent choice. Interestingly, he also was in Wing Commander, where he played a spaceship captain.
ReplyDeleteNightcrawler, Interesting choice. I'll have to think about that one. He might be really good actually.
ReplyDeleteI think Lance Henrikson? From IMDb...."An intense, versatile actor as adept at playing clean-cut FBI agents as he is psychotic motorcycle-gang leaders, who can go from portraying soulless, murderous vampires to burned-out, world-weary homicide detectives."
ReplyDeleteNow that's the type of Starship Captain I want representing the good ole Fed!
Patriot, Henrikson could absolutely have done it.
ReplyDeleteTechnically Karo is Turkish. He just lives in France.
ReplyDelete