Patrick Stewart

With Picard, the Star Trek universe has rediscovered one of its brightest stars. The actor and activist (and knight) talks Hollywood inclusivity, cannabis reform, pit bull rescue and whether he’ll ever say “Engage!” off camera

- Stacey Wilson Hunt

Q1: The internet arrived in earnest between Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard. How have technology and social media changed your life and work?

STEWART: I remember when iPhones first came out someone said, “Do you realize these are just like Star Trek?” [laughs] We used to have these things that we would talk on — or the other guys did. I just scratch the surface of what my phone can do; voice activation makes me uneasy. But we have access to CGI and special effects that are far more powerful than what we used to have. I hear about social media’s hostile side, which I’ve encountered only once or twice. You can’t comment about anything without attracting angry attention. That makes me uncomfortable.

Q2: Isa Briones, an actress of Asian descent, and other nonwhite performers are central to Picard’s narrative. Does a series like this, one not rooted in reality, still have a responsibility to reflect the real world?

STEWART: I’m moved when I recollect [Next Generation co-star] Whoopi Goldberg telling me what it meant to her seeing the character Uhura on TV; what she said to me was, “One of us made it,” which is partly ironic and a little cynical but nevertheless profound. Thankfully we are energetically acknowledging that there has always been a problem, and we’re doing something about it. Five of our 10 episodes were directed by women, and I continually find myself in scenes in which female cast members outnumber the male.

Q3: What is it about the mythology of Star Trek, the original series of which started in 1966 and lasted only three seasons, that has allowed it to endure?