Gates McFadden, who played Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation is tired of questions about her and Jean-Luc Picard.
For Gates McFadden, the world of Star Trek was an opportunity of a lifetime. Her turn as Beverly Crusher on The Next Generation made her beloved by millions and Beverly Crusher ended up becoming a major character for the franchise, even if she was written off in the second season for the critical and judgemental Dr. Katherine Pulask; played by Diana Muldaur.
She’s done television series, films, conventions, red-carpets, and all the jazz that a Trek-icon will do. She’s even open to answer any and every question fans have. Except one. McFadden is over being asked about the romance of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher.
Speaking to Mick Joest of CinemaBlend, McFadden explained why she’s tired of being asked about the will-they-won’t-they-because-they-never-did romance of Picard and Crusher.
"I guess it’s about, you know, what happened to Crusher and Picard. Probably that sort of thing. Because it wasn’t up to me. Ask that to Patrick, ask that to the producers, but I’m not the one you should ask about it because I really can’t say anything. I know we have a great chemistry, and he’s fantastic. So it really depends on what the studio wants and what he’s hoping for his character, and that’s just the way of the biz, you know?"
Gates McFadden didn’t write Beverly Crusher.
Fans often forget how things work. You see it all the time when a popular character is killed off by an evil-doer on a television show, and that person gets endless hate from social media users who actually think that “evil-doer” actor actually did something. Like it was their decision. Like Jack Gleeson, who played Joffrey on Game of Thrones, he was sent some pretty awful stuff.
The inverse is true as well, fans will attach themselves to romantic pairings to an unhealthy degree and demand the actors answer questions that they may not even know the answer to. After all, it’s the producers on the show that influence the direction, not the actors.
They’re just the public face.
Crusher and Picard will never have an official relationship, and bombarding McFadden with the same questions for 30 years is long enough. Time to let this romance die.