DEADLINE:Do you remember your first meeting with one another, way back in 1986?
Wed been called into the makeup trailer to meet the great king of makeup, Michael Westmore.
GATES McFADDEN: I was doing a play with Linda Hunt calledThe Matchmaker, down in La Jolla.
Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard.Trae Patton/Paramount+
Patrick came down to see it.
We talked all night.
They said, Youll be lucky to make it through the first season.
You cannot revive an iconic series, thats what they told us.
And a Klingon on the bridge, and a blind guy driving.
It was a very strange environment and people were skeptical to say the least.
I didnt know anything aboutStar Trek.
Neither did Gates, or Brent [Spiner], or Patrick.
McFADDEN: Brent said the same, that we just didnt know if this was a good idea.
Johnny, do you remember the first time I met you?
It was a silly scene in a shopping mall.
I said, Can we rehearse?
Can we go over the scene?
You looked at me and just said, Sure.
After about three times, you were like, I think weve got it.
It was a four-line scene [laughs].
But Id never done anything like this; committed to a series like that.
FRAKES: Hey, now [laughs].
DEADLINE:Star Trek: Picards third season reunites the wholeNext Generationensemble.
The chemistry between the characters takes us right back toNext Genwhen it had hit its stride.
How long did it take you to settle in and find that chemistry?
The writers didnt know yet who they were writing for.
For us, Id never worn a silly spandex spacesuit with no pockets.
I didnt know how to act without my f*cking hands in my pockets.
It was a lot to learn.
God bless Brent and LeVar [Burton], who were given the bulk of it.
McFADDEN: Excuse me, Beverly had quite a lot to say, too.
FRAKES: Yeah, and Beverly Crusher, my apologies [laughs].
Then I could listen to everyone else mumble the technobabble, and Patrick would wrap it up.
That was my favorite kind of scene.
I wasnt called to shoot on the first day, and I remember being very annoyed about that.
I wanted to be there from the start.
I wanted to experience everything.
So, I went out to the location in Griffith Park, just to watch how they did it.
It was Brent and you, Jon.
FRAKES: The Pop Goes the Weasel scene.
STEWART: The ease and relaxation with which everyone was approaching that days work so impressed me.
I think maybe Id been unlucky.
The atmosphere that day in Griffith Park was so relaxed.
Wed done a play reading, but never anything on camera before, and certainly not with these characters.
But most of the first season, for me, was a huge learning experience.
It was a little artificial, not spontaneous, not being in the moment.
Not all of those things that are now fundamental to whatever we do.
It got better as it went on.
FRAKES: I feel the same way.
I had the exact same reaction to watching those early shows.
I felt physically uncomfortable and I look it.
I was clearly nervous.
I wasnt centered, and wasnt relaxed, despite appearances.
McFADDEN: That spacesuit, Johnny.
I also knew nothing of hitting marks, being mindful of the camera and the crew.
Do you remember, we couldnt make any noise?
DEADLINE:You sat out the second season, Gates.
When you came back for Season 3, did you start to feel more comfortable?
McFADDEN: The character was different when I came back.
Suddenly, my character was a little more matronly.
I did have a couple of really wonderful episodes, like Remember Me, that were a little earlier.
DEADLINE:You each got episodes that allowed you to sink your teeth into your characters.
FRAKES: Of course.
And as they got to know us better, the writing made that easier to find.
At least, it felt that way to me.
Patrick had some center, some position, that we didnt have.
He didnt seem very nervous to us during Season 1.
STEWART: Oh, boy [laughs].
There wasnt much of a human being there.
King, and of course, Elvis, which was my personal favorite [laughs].
That, to me, was one of the greatest experiences of my entire time doing the show.
It wasntStar Trek, but it was, because we were all there and we were all very tight.
We had Colm Meaney as well.
It was phenomenal, and it was Patricks idea.
STEWART: As we were doing five days of work every week on the show, Monday to Friday.
FRAKES: And then to go to Chicago on the weekend and play Stoppard.
That was a great period.
I think it was 1992.
We started in LA, then went to Chicago.
We played with the Atlanta Symphony.
It was a beautiful experience, and we were directed by our captain.
DEADLINE:It has been more than two decades since the lastNext Generationmovie,Star Trek: Nemesis.
Returning toPicard, how quickly did the characters come back to you?
FRAKES: Our family of friends never stopped knowing one another, so there was no feeling of reunion.
We hadnt been apart.
Wed done that, and wed done it very well.
Not all the time, but most of the time [laughs].
But 20 years had passed.
So many things have happened to you.
Are you the same person you were then?
I realized then that it didnt have to make reference toThe Next Generationat all.
What had been happening to these characters in those 20 years?
Who were they today?
You read three newspapers in the morning and youre ready to go back to bed.
Jonathan, you are dealing with grief over the loss of your son.
Im sure youve heard from people who have been affected by that kind of loss in their own lives.
FRAKES: I certainly have, and it has been very moving.
Terry pitched a really satisfying arc for the third season, so it wasnt necessarily a reunion.
There was conflict again, which as we know is the basis of alldrama.
McFADDEN: Terry did such a great job because he really lovedTNG, and he loved our characters.
There were more Easter eggs planted on that set than even I knew about.
He knew more about the series than most of us, and certainly me.
Some fans have said, It was all action, and not enough talking about philosophy.
But look at the world.
The actors dont get to direct episodes as well.
McFADDEN: Thats true of Jonathan, and its also true of LeVar, too, when he directs.
We do, because we know were on one anothers side.
DEADLINE:What has the reaction to the show meant to you?
I think its even better than we could ever have dared hope.
Im proud of the work, the time and the experience.
And it has only made our friendships stronger.
Audiences reacted in a way I have never experienced before, as an actor or a director.
The outpouring of support has been, at times, a little overwhelming.
McFADDEN: Ill toast to that.
Im grateful and I feel the same way.
STEWART: It was a gamble, wasnt it?
FRAKES: It certainly was.
