John de Lancie was surprised he was called for Star Trek: Picard’s second season

John de Lancie was surprised he was called to play Q in season two of Star Trek: Picard.

Star Trek: Picard is currently airing its second season, with the third right around the corner. That will end the show’s run and many fans have already skipped past the excitement for the ending of season two, due to the announcement that season three will serve as a The Next Generation reunion of sorts. Yet, one of the most popular characters in the entire franchise’s history, Q, popped up in season two of Picard.

Q is played by John de Lancie, and despite only appearing in a dozen-odd episode across three series, the character is arguably the most popular non-regular in franchise history and may even rival the most popular period.

Despite his popularity, he was still surprised when he got the call to show up in the second season. de Lancie spoke to George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal and spoke about how he was surprised he was called to do the Picard series.

"Yes, I was a popular character, disproportionately popular, and I would’ve liked to have thought that they would’ve had me in the movies and stuff like that, but they didn’t. And they had a first season of ‘Picard,’ and nobody called me.Because you cannot live wondering if you’re going to be invited to somebody’s dinner party, I put it out of my mind. I went, ‘I did what I did during the time that I did it, and that’s it.’ In that respect, I was surprised. I went, ‘Oh really? That’s great.’ Yeah, I guess one could say I was surprised."

John de Lancie has always understood his place in Star Trek’s history

Whenever de Lancie speaks about his Star Trek legacy, there’s always this knowingness that he carries. Fully aware that he’s lucky to be as popular as he is despite his limited time on the series, so it’s not that surprising to see him embrace the love that has come his way.

He’s very aware of how lucky he is.

So when asked about his upcoming appearance at a local convention at the end of April, de Lancie spoke about how he approaches fans and their often repeating questions.

"I take it seriously. I enjoy being there.Sometimes it gets long, and sometimes the questions are the same, but that’s the discipline. Those of us who I think do take it seriously, and do this well, understand that each person, this is their opportunity, and you have to listen and respond as if you had never heard that question before. You are in the moment, just like they are. I have good thoughts about it."

de Lancie remains a shining beacon of how to not only embrace a character, its reputation but the fans as well.