美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'Star Trek: Picard,' Patrick Stewart Plays A Changed Leade

 

(SOUNDBITE OF CINCINNATI POPS ORCHESTRA'S "MAIN THEME FROM STAR TREK¹: THE NEXT GENERATION")

PATRICK STEWART: Space - the final frontier.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Those stirring lines in that crisp British accent made Patrick Stewart a household name and an icon² for the seven seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in the late 1980s and early '90s. His character, Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard, had wit, grit³ and refinement⁴. He was cool under pressure. As leader of the Starship Enterprise, he protected the galaxy⁵ and all of its life forms from harm in a vision of the future that saw humans as peacekeepers and explorers. Well, a lot has changed since then back here on Earth. And the new chapter in the "Star Trek" saga⁶ is called simply "Picard." And it's different.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR TREK: PICARD")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Why did you really quit Starfleet?

STEWART: (As Jean-Luc Picard) Because it was no longer Starfleet.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) I'm sorry?

STEWART: (As Jean-Luc Picard) Because it was no longer Starfleet.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I am thrilled to welcome Sir Patrick Stewart to WEEKEND EDITION. Thank you so much for joining us.

STEWART: Good morning, Lulu.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: "The Next Generation," I must say, got me through my teens. It offered just this incredibly hopeful vision of the future where humans had evolved to be their better selves. Picard embodied⁷ that, you know, for a lot of people. He was a very decent man. What do you think when you look back at that incarnation of him now?

STEWART: I feel a modest amount of pride because we dedicated⁸ seven years to the series. And it was quite intense at times. And by the way, you played the opening voiceover. I wonder if you would have played it if you've heard what we did record once when somebody had the bright idea that I shouldn't have a French accent.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: No.

STEWART: And this wasn't...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter).

STEWART: This wasn't a joke. It was absolutely serious. And somewhere, there is that recording⁹ that sounds something like this - (in a French accent) space, the final frontier.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) That's amazing. And how did it get killed? I mean, who decided¹⁰ that perhaps that might not be the best accent?

STEWART: Well, for the same reason I think that they didn't want me to wear a hairpiece - my very last audition¹¹ when I was assured by my agent - it's down to you and another actor - and, by the way, I never ever - they would never tell me who the other actor was.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I would love to know.

STEWART: Maybe there wasn't one. I would love to know, too. But I did my last audition for the studio. And I wore a hairpiece, a very good hairpiece.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter).

STEWART: But then the decision was made - no hairpiece, no French accent, just as he comes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Just as he comes - well, this Picard is very different. We find him at the beginning of the first episode earthbound, in retirement¹², writing books. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR TREK: PICARD")

STEWART: (As Jean-Luc Picard) I never asked anything of myself. I haven't been living. I've been waiting to die.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What happened to Picard?

STEWART: Well, I'm sorry to tell you that, because the backstory is gradually revealed through the first season, I can't really go into detail. But there was a time when he was captain. There was a time when he was admiral. And then he became involved in a huge refugee problem. And he made some errors of judgment¹³, mistakes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And the world that he believed in sort of was different in a way.

STEWART: Yes, it was. And this was something that I talked about at my very first meetings, why I was going to pass on their offer. And then as they talked and I heard them discuss the atmosphere and mood this new series would be, then my interest was intensely sparked because in the 17, 18 years since we wrapped "Next Generation," the world has changed significantly, especially in the last few years. Both our countries know this. And, personally, I speak with profound regret about our country's decision to leave the European Union. I mean, the European Union always made me feel - well, we are heading towards our own federation¹⁴ of planets. Somewhere down the line, that will come about. And I am angry, disappointed and embarrassed by our decision to leave the union.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I am curious about your relationship with Picard. I mean, is he a version of you?

STEWART: Yes. He is. In a sense, he had to become that, apart from the fact that I profoundly respect his views on life, his attitude to freedom of expression, to democracy. There came a point, maybe sometime in the third season, when I realized that the gap between Jean-Luc Picard and Patrick Stewart had gotten narrower and narrower. And, finally, we began to overlap¹⁵ until - by the time we had wrapped the series and we were doing the first of our movies, I knew who this man was inside out, back to front because he was not wholly Jean-Luc Picard. He was partly Patrick Stewart.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You know, one of our editors who went to Juilliard remembers a session with you and the actors there. You had come to do "A Christmas Carol." And they were sort of told that it was very much frowned upon to ask you about your experience with "Star Trek." Was there a moment when you just didn't want to wear the mantle¹⁶ or the uniform of Picard?

STEWART: I was unprepared for the extent to which Patrick Stewart the actor would become identified with the role. And there was an instance soon after I'd finished my work as Jean-Luc Picard when I was campaigning to meet a director for a - quite a modest supporting role in a movie. And he was very nice to me and very polite. But he suddenly said, look. Why would I want Jean-Luc Picard in my movie? And that made me feel so bad...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah.

STEWART: ...Because I was proud of the work that I'd done, but at the same time, I was suddenly beginning to discover it was a bit of an albatross. Most of that has gone now because the one thing I have continually said to my managers and my agents, diversity in the roles that I play is what keeps me committed to this job and sometimes the difficult circumstances that we work under.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do you think Picard still has something to teach us?

STEWART: Well, as our world goes one step forward and two steps back, I think there is much of the man that we certainly knew in "Next Generation," his modesty¹⁷, his patience, his affection - no, affection is too weak a word - his passion for humankind and for the future of the solar system that we inhabited. And one of the great things about Jean-Luc was he was a great listener and would only speak when he felt everyone had expressed what they believed. And the crew of the Enterprise came to know that they were at liberty to speak the truth about what they believed and what they thought. And sometimes I think there are certain restrictions¹⁸ imposed on some of our people who run our countries. And they do not always talk about what they truly and passionately¹⁹ believe in.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's Sir Patrick Stewart. You can stream "Star Trek: Picard" on CBS All Access starting January 23. Thank you very much.

STEWART: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF CINCINNATI POPS ORCHESTRA'S "MAIN THEME FROM 'STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION'")

1 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

2 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

3 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

4 refinement   

n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼

参考例句：

• Sally is a woman of great refinement and beauty. 莎莉是个温文尔雅又很漂亮的女士。
• Good manners and correct speech are marks of refinement.彬彬有礼和谈吐得体是文雅的标志。

5 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

6 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

7 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

9 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

13 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

14 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

15 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

16 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

17 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

18 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

19 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。