Patrick Stewart shares why Whoopi Goldberg wanted to be on Star Trek: The Next Generation

Patrick Stewart is revealing tidbits of information about his Star Trek: The Next Generation colleagues, including Whoopi Goldberg. 

Whoopi Goldberg, made her first appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation, in the first episode of season two, “The Child.” Playing Guinan, the wise and long-lived barkeep in Ten Forward who was always ready with a story or words of wisdom, Goldberg became an integral part of the cast, especially with her interactions with Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

In his recently-released memoir, Making It So, Stewart talks about how Goldberg came to be on the series, and in an interview with The New Yorker, why the part was important to her.

Patrick Stewart admits he didn’t understand why Whoopi Goldberg wanted to join a sci-fi series.

So, one day, in between takes, Stewart told Goldberg he didn’t understand why she agreed to do The Next Generation. Goldberg talked about what Star Trek: The Original Series had meant to her, adding “there was also a black woman in the cast [Nichelle Nichols]. And it made me think one of us must have made it.”

Now close friends with her, Stewart appeared on an episode of The View after the first season of Star Trek: Picard to issue a formal invitation to Goldberg to appear on the series as her The Next Generation character—an invitation which clearly meant a lot to Goldberg. Of course, she said yes, and she appeard in the first and last episodes in season two of the series, bringing her character full circle as Admiral Picard’s confidante and guiding light.

Stewart is making the media rounds to talk about his memoir, detailing his friendships with cast members of The Next Generation, and one moment was all it took for him to become lifelong friends with Goldberg.