Patrick Stewart continues the trend of learning from his Star Trek character

Patrick Stewart believes he became a better person thanks to his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek legend Patrick Stewart is seemingly mirroring the recent comments of fellow Trek star, Sonequa Martin-Green, who said that her time as Michael Burnham on Star Trek: Discovery really changed her and apparently made her more selfless. Stewart, by the same token, has also been changed by his character.

Stewart played Jean-Luc Picard on The Next Generation, and while at times was cold and distant, dealing with the hazards of leadership and his slow-boiling post-traumatic stress disorder, was also seen as a good man.

And it’s no surprise that Stewart sees that the character helped make him a better man. He spoke to NPR about his time on Trek, and revealed how Picard changed him for the better, saying;

"It gave me an idea of how I might become a better person, yes. I was able to absorb that and make those feelings a strong and firm part of my life."

Patrick Stewart and Jean-Luc Picard made an impact on many people’s lives

It’s fair to say that no matter when you got into Star Trek or for how long you’ve been watching, you’ve somehow stumbled into one of the many performances that Stewart had as Picard. He’s been playing the role since the late 1980s and is still looking to play the character well over 30 years later, pushing his time with the character past the five-decade mark.

It’s not surprising that Picard helped change the way Stewart sees the world, as the character probably helped many others see the world differently. He’s one of those characters that was so well written for so many years, that it’d be impossible to say one of his performances as the Starfleet legend didn’t change someone, to some degree, for the better.