Patrick Stewart has been one of the faces of the Star Trek franchise for decades. Taking over the reins as the franchise's face from William Shatner, Stewart has led his brand of Trek through seven seasons, four movies, and a revival series. He's largely seen as one of the brand's biggest supporters and the focal point for the closeness of the Next Generation cast.
Yet, Stewart often is very critical of the franchise, or at least was. There was a time when Stewart wanted little, if not nothing to do with the franchise. He famously wanted out so badly that at the end of season three, the writers and producers were ready to kill him off at the end of part one of the "Best of Both Worlds" two-parter.
Famously, had Stewart opted to not return for season four, Jonathan Frakes would be seated as the new lead, likely with Elizabeth Dennehy coming on as Shelby, the ship's new second-in-command. Of course, that didn't happen, and Stewart remained part of the franchise for decades to come. Still, Stewart wasn't always sold. So much so that he hated to watch himself act on the show.
Now, this is less to do with the show itself and more to do with Stewart not liking his own performances, but it seems odd that he'd put himself in that kind of position where he's forced to watch himself if he was such a critic.
Yet, that's exactly what he ended up doing when he took up directing duties during his time on The Next Generation. Speaking at The Captain's Summit in 2018 (via Fandom Wire), Stewart revealed that he hated seeing himself act so much that he tried to reduce his own role in those particular episodes.
All so he didn't have to suffer through his own work. He'd go on to say;
"I felt I couldn’t play the captain and take on that responsibility. I don’t know how it was for you when we were directing episodes, I hated the days when I had to act, and furthermore, I couldn’t act in the episodes I directed. … I was so stiff in my own episodes and I tried to get them to cut my scenes down – they would do that anyway, they would give you an episode in which you were light. "
It's rather refreshing to hear Stewart be so critical of himself as an actor. Many of us would admit that he's one of the finer additions to the franchise as a talent that Star Trek has ever had. So to hear him admit that he's uncomfortable watching his own performances is rather relatable. Many of us wouldn't want to watch ourselves perform like that. Let alone decide if your work was good enough to make the end cut.
It's hard enough as a talent to do a scene and think you can do it better. Yet if you're always assuming you're not good enough in the episodes you direct, then you have to figure out a way to accept yourself. Otherwise, you'll be stuck re-filming scene after scene.