Jean-Luc Picard is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

in the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' franchise, most often seen as the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...

. Played by

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...

, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and two episodes of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', as well as the feature films ''

Star Trek Generations ''Star Trek Generations'' is a 1994 American science fiction film and the seventh film in the ''Star Trek'' film series. Malcolm McDowell joins cast members from the 1960s television show ''Star Trek'' and the 1987 sequel series ''The Next G ...

'' (1994), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), '' Star Trek: Insurrection'' (1998), and '' Star Trek: Nemesis'' (2002). He is also featured as the central character in the show '' Star Trek: Picard'' (2020–present). Picard was born in La Barre, France, to Yvette and Maurice Picard.

Casting and design

After the success of the contemporary ''Star Trek'' feature films, a new ''Star Trek'' television series featuring a new cast was announced on October 10, 1986. ''Star Trek'' creator

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

named Picard for (one or both of) the twin brothers

Auguste Piccard Auguste Antoine Piccard (28 January 1884 – 24 March 1962) was a Switzerland, Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer known for his record-breaking Gas balloon, hydrogen balloon flights, with which he studied the Earth's upper atmosphere. Picca ...

and

Jean Piccard Jean Felix Piccard (January 28, 1884 in Basel, Switzerland – January 28, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota), also known as Jean Piccard, was a Swiss-born American chemist, engineer, professor and high-altitude balloonist. He invented cluster ...

, 20th-century Swiss scientists. cited in

, who has a background of theatre at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, was initially considered for the role of

Data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...

. Roddenberry did not want to cast Stewart as Picard, since he had envisioned an actor who was "masculine, virile, and had a lot of hair". Roddenberry's first choice was

Stephen Macht Stephen Robert Macht (born May 1, 1942) is an American television and film actor. As the father of actor Gabriel Macht, he portrayed Henry Gerard, a Harvard University, Harvard professor in the US legal drama ''Suits (American TV series), Suit ...

, and it took "weeks of discussion" with

Robert H. Justman Robert Harris "Bob" Justman (July 13, 1926 – May 28, 2008) was an American television producer, director, and production manager. He worked on many American TV series including ''Lassie'', ''The Life of Riley'', '' Adventures of Superman'', ...

Rick Berman Richard Keith Berman (born December 25, 1945) is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the executive producer of several of the '' Star Trek'' television series: '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ...

, and the casting director to convince him that "Stewart was the one they had been looking for to sit in the captain's chair"; Roddenberry agreed after auditioning every other candidate for the role. The other actors considered included

Yaphet Kotto Yaphet Frederick Kotto (born Frederick Samuel Kotto; November 15, 1939 – March 15, 2021) was an American actor known for numerous film roles, as well as starring in the NBC television series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) as ...

Patrick Bauchau Patrick Nicolas Jean Sixte Ghislain Bauchau (born 6 December 1938) is a Belgian actor best known for his roles in the films ''A View to a Kill'', '' The Rapture'' and ''Panic Room'', as well as the TV shows '' The Pretender'' and '' House''. ...

Roy Thinnes Roy Thinnes (born April 6, 1938) is an American television and film actor best known for his portrayal of lonely hero David Vincent in the ABC 1967–68 television series ''The Invaders''. He starred in the 1969 British science fiction film ''J ...

and

Mitchell Ryan Mitchell Ryan (January 11, 1934 – March 4, 2022) was an American film, television, and stage actor, who in his six decades of television is known for playing Burke Devlin in the 1960s gothic soap opera ''Dark Shadows'', and later for his co- ...

. Stewart was uncertain why the producers would cast "a middle-aged bald English Shakespearean actor" as captain of the ''

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

''. He had his toupee delivered from London to meet with Paramount executives, but Roddenberry ordered Stewart to remove the "awful looking" hairpiece. Stewart's stentorian voice impressed the executives, who immediately approved the casting. Roddenberry sent Stewart

C. S. Forester Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (27 August 1899 – 2 April 1966), known by his pen name Cecil Scott "C. S." Forester, was an English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare, such as the 12-book Horatio Hornblower series depicting a Roya ...

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films, radio and television programmes, an ...

novels, saying the Picard character was based on Hornblower, but Stewart was already familiar with the character, having read the books as a teenager. As the series progressed, Stewart exercised more control over the character's development. By the time production began on the first ''Next Generation'' film, "it was impossible to tell where Jean-Luc started and Patrick Stewart ended", and by the fourth film, Stewart stated: However, Stewart stated that he is not nearly as serious or brooding as his alter ego. Stewart also stated, "One of the delights of having done this series and played this role is that people are so attracted to the whole idea of ''Star Trek''... several years after the series has ended... I enjoy hearing how much people enjoyed the work we did... It's always gratifying to me that this bald, middle-aged Englishman seems to connect with them". Stewart has commented that his role has helped open up

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

to science fiction fans. He has noted the "regular presence of

Trekkie A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the '' Star Trek'' franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise. History Many early Trekkies were also fans of ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1964–1968), another show with scienc ...

s in the audience" whenever he plays theater, and added: "I meet these people afterwards, I get letters from them and see them at the stage door... And they say, 'I've never seen Shakespeare before, I didn't think I'd understand it, but it was wonderful and I can't wait to come back.'" A new ''Star Trek'' series was announced by

CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Me ...

Alex Kurtzman Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''Star Trek'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''Transformers (film), Transformers'' (2007), ''Transformers: Revenge ...

and Patrick Stewart in July 2018 and released on January 23, 2020 under the title '' Star Trek: Picard,'' in which Stewart reprises his role as Picard.

Depiction

Jean-Luc Picard was introduced on television in 1987, in the debut episode "

Encounter at Farpoint "Encounter at Farpoint" is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', which premiered in syndication on September 28, 1987. It was written by D. C. Fontana ...

" of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. In this science fiction television show, he is the captain of a crewed spacecraft of the fictional organization

Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...

as it visits various exoplanets and aliens. It is set in the late 24th century, and Picard must balance the challenges of people and technology. As a character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, Picard appears in various books, comics, computer games, and films throughout the 1990s and a variety of merchandise. He is portrayed as being deeply moved by a desire to explore the universe and with a strong sense of duty; however, he has misgivings about not having a family and difficulty interacting with children. The close-knit crew of the ''Enterprise'' provides his main friendships as they take on the Galaxy. Some of his interests, as presented by the show, include space exploration, Shakespeare, and archaeology. Notable episodes featuring the Jean-Luc Picard character include "Best of Both Worlds" (Parts I and II), "Yesterday's Enterprise", "Family", "All Good Things...", and "The Inner Light". Actor Patrick Stewart noted of the character "During these past years, it has been humbling to hear many stories about how ''The Next Generation'' brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership..."

Television series

Jean-Luc Picard was born to Maurice and Yvette Picard in La Barre, France, on 13 July 2305. As a child, he dreamed of joining

. He and the rest of his family speak English, with UK English dialects—the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

having become obscure by the 24th century, as mentioned in the ''Next Generation'' episode " Code of Honor". In the first season of ''The Next Generation'', Picard was depicted as having a special pride in being French, though this was dropped by the second season. Picard also has a number of British habits, including the regular consumption of

Earl Grey tea Earl Grey tea is a tea blend which has been flavoured with oil of bergamot. The rind's fragrant oil is added to black tea to give Earl Grey its unique taste. Traditionally, Earl Grey was made from black teas such as Chinese keemun, and therefo ...

, a fondness for

(which he performs in holodeck simulations), riding horses with English tack and a knowledge of such British songs with

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

associations as " A British Tar" (

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

) and "

Heart of Oak "Heart of Oak" is the official march of the Royal Navy. It is also the official march of several Commonwealth navies, including the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy. It was also the official march of the Royal Australian Navy ...

". The young Picard failed his first

Starfleet Academy In the Setting (fiction), fictional universe of ''Star Trek'', Starfleet Academy is where recruits to Starfleet's officer corps are trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded. The Academy's mot ...

entrance exam and, upon admission, met with numerous ethical and scholastic difficulties during his cadet career, but went on to flourish, developing a lifelong passion for

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, and he became the first

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

to win the Academy

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. Shortly after graduation, Picard was stabbed in the

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

by a Nausicaan, leaving the organ irreparable and requiring replacement with a parthenogenetic implant; this proved near-fatal

later Later may refer to: * Future, the time after the present Television * ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show * '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992 * ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

Picard's first posting was on the USS ''Reliant'', later serving as first officer aboard the USS ''Stargazer'', which he later commanded. During that time, he performed a warp-speed battle tactic that would become known as the Picard Maneuver. Depicted as deeply moral, highly logical, and intelligent, Picard is a master of

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

and

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

who resolves seemingly intractable issues between multiple, sometimes implacable parties with a

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

-like wisdom. Though such resolutions are usually peaceful, Picard is also shown using his remarkable tactical cunning in situations when it is required. Picard has a fondness for

detective stories A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

Shakespearean drama Shakespeare's plays are a canon of approximately 39 dramatic works written by English poet, playwright, and actor William Shakespeare. The exact number of plays—as well as their classifications as tragedy, history, comedy, or otherwise—is a ...

, and

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. His catchphrases are "Make it so" and "Engage", but also "Tea, Earl grey, hot" when ordering from the computer's replicator. ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' depicts Picard's command of the USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701-D). The

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

shows the ship's mission to investigate a problem at Farpoint Station, which becomes sidetracked when an entity known as Q makes Picard "representative" in a trial charging humanity with being a "dangerously savage child-race". Picard persuades Q to test humanity, and Q chooses as the test's first stage the crew's performance at Farpoint. The trial "ends" seven years later (though Q reminds Picard that the trial never ends), in the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...

, when humanity is absolved by Picard's demonstration that the species has the capacity to explore the "possibilities of existence". The third-season finale, " The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", depicts Picard being assimilated by the

Borg The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are Cyborg, cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a Group mind (science fiction), hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg ...

to serve as a bridge between humanity and the Borg (renamed Locutus of Borg); Picard's assimilation and recovery are a critical point in the character's development, and provided

backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...

for the film '' Star Trek: First Contact'' and the development of

Benjamin Sisko Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is a fictional character in the '' Star Trek'' franchise portrayed by Avery Brooks. He first appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') and became prominent on the TV show in the United ...

, the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' in the series premiere "

Emissary Emissary may refer to: * Ambassador * Apostle (disambiguation) * Diplomat * ''Emissaries'' (album), a 2006 album by black metal group Melechesh * Emissary (hydraulics), channel by which an outlet is formed to carry off any stagnant body of wate ...

." Stewart asked Roddenberry to keep Picard a Borg for a few more episodes beyond the third-season finale, as he thought that would be more interesting than simply restoring Picard in Part II. It is later revealed in ''First Contact'' that parts of Borg machinery were removed from inside Picard, but that he retains traumatic memories and lingering neurological aftereffects of assimilation (which become a pivotal plot twist in ''Star Trek: First Contact''). The fourth-season episode "

Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

" reveals that Picard has a brother, Robert, who took charge of the family vineyards in La Barre after Picard joined Starfleet. Robert and his wife have a young son, René. In the film ''

'', Picard is devastated to learn that Robert and René have both died in a fire, and worse, the loss makes him the last of the Picard family. TNG Season 5 episode, featured Picard trapped in another life in the Hugo Award winning " The Inner Light". The episode has a scene where Picard plays an alien flute, which was critically acclaimed as one of the best scenes in the series. When the flute went to auction in 2006, it was suggested it could be acquired for (), but it went for $48,000 ().Two to bid up! First auction of ‘Star Trek’ stuff

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

Christie's 1778-0537, Picard's Ressikan Flute''Star Trek'' Propcollector.com
at the ''Star Trek'' Auction Listings Archive Picard made his final appearance in ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' on television with "All Good Things...", which was watched by over 30 million viewers.

Films

Picard joins forces with the 23rd-century ''Enterprise'' captain

James T. Kirk James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as captain. Kirk leads ...

in ''

'' to fight the film's villain Dr. Tolian Soran. Commanding the new USS ''Enterprise''-E (after the ''Enterprise''-D is destroyed in ''Generations''), Picard again confronts the Borg in '' First Contact.'' Later, he defends the Prime Directive and fights the forced relocation of the Ba'ku in '' Star Trek: Insurrection'', and encounters Shinzon, a

Romulan The Romulans () are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They first appeared in the series ''Star Trek'' (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent ''Star Trek'' releases, including '' The A ...

-made clone of himself, in '' Star Trek: Nemesis''.

Streaming

The follow-up series '' Star Trek: Picard'' is set at the close of the 24th century. A now-retired Admiral Picard lives with Romulan servants in solitude on Château Picard, the Picard vineyard estate in La Barre, France (filmed at the Sunstone winery in Santa Ynez Valley, California). His retirement was brought upon by his failure to save the Romulans from the Hobus supernova depicted in ''Star Trek'' (the 2009 film). A mysterious woman, Dahj Asha, comes to his estate seeking sanctuary, and Picard learns that she may be a Soong-type android, created from Data's remains. Androids had been made illegal in the wake of their rebellion on Mars, which directly led to the failure of the Romulan rescue attempt. Soon, Picard is drawn into a conspiracy to suppress all synthetic life, which involves the remnants of the

Tal Shiar The Romulans () are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise '' Star Trek''. They first appeared in the series '' Star Trek'' (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent ''Star Trek'' releases, including '' The ...

. Picard, accompanied by a rag-tag crew on ''La Sirena'', works to subvert this conspiracy. At the end of season one, Picard's human form expires on Coppelius due to a pre-existing medical condition, and he encounters Data's consciousness, still alive in a simulated matrix. Data pleads for Picard to finally let him die, as he considers the finiteness of life to be a defining human characteristic. Data informs Picard that scientists "were able to scan, map and transfer a complete neural image of your brain's substrates" into a synthetic body, specifically configured to only give him the lifespan he would have lived if he did not have his previous disease. Picard obliges Data's request, staying by him in the simulated matrix as Data dies. Picard then continues exploring space in his new body, on ''La Sirena''.

Development in non-canon works

In novels by

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...

, Picard has married Beverly Crusher, and they have a son named René Jacques Robert François Picard. Jean-Luc also corresponds regularly with Marie, his sister-in-law, who still maintains the family vineyards. Picard remained captain of the ''Enterprise''-E until 2387, when the events of ''Star Trek: Coda'' see the First Splinter – the timeline depicted in the novels – erased in order to protect the prime universe from the Temporal Apocalypse, a devastating wave of temporal energy that threatened to destroy the multiverse. In the comics miniseries ''Star Trek: Countdown'', a prequel to the ''

'' reboot (2009), Picard is depicted as having retired from Starfleet and become Federation Ambassador to Vulcan. In 2387, he works with Data, the new commanding officer of the ''Enterprise''-E, Ambassador Spock, and the Romulan miner Nero to save the Romulan Star Empire from a cataclysmic supernova. He is present aboard the ''Enterprise'' as it confronts Nero, who has gone mad and begun killing non-Romulans after they fail to save Romulus. The ''Enterprise'' arrives too late to aid Ambassador Spock against Nero, believing both Spock and Nero to have been consumed by the artificial black hole that Spock created. The PC video game '' Star Trek: Hidden Evil'' (1999) includes voice acting by

Brent Spiner Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as four subsequent films. In 2019, he reprised the role for ...

and Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard, with the plot a follow-up from the ninth ''

'' film '' Star Trek: Insurrection'' (1998) which also starred both actor-character combinations. Patrick Stewart also voiced Picard and Locutus for the year 2000 computer game '' Star Trek: Armada''.

Reception

The character received critical acclaim among fans of ''The Next Generation'', and he is usually considered one of the top two captains in the ''Star Trek'' franchise – there are often lengthy and serious debates over whether Picard or

is the "best" Starfleet captain. A 1991 ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' cover story was titled "It's Kirk vs. Picard: Experts and fans debate who's best". In a more lighthearted take on the debate, the cover of a 1994 ''Mad'' magazine ''Star Trek'' special features both Kirk and Picard wrestling childishly to fit into the ''Enterprise''s captain's chair, while Scotty and

Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...

watch their respective commanders with looks of astonishment. Picard is deemed the ultimate delegator of authority, knowing "how to gather and use data better than any other ''Star Trek'' captain". His leadership style "is best suited to a large, process-centric, either geographically identical or diverse team".Paul Kimmerly & David R. Webb,
Leadership, The Final Frontier: Lessons From the Captains of Star Trek
" ''CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering'' Oct. 2006 Kirk and Picard are considered to be attentive to the needs of their respective crews. When Stewart and

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

were asked in 1991 how their characters would have dealt with

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

, Shatner stated that Kirk would "have told him to drop dead" while Stewart joked that Picard "would still be talking". In 2015, Stewart addressed a long-asked conundrum among ''Star Trek'' fans, "If Kirk and Picard fought each other, who would win?" in '' Smithsonian'' magazine, by saying Picard would prefer to negotiate in the hope of avoiding a fight altogether.

UGO Networks UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States. History The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...

listed Picard as one of their best heroes in entertainment, saying, "He doesn't have Kirk's sense of panache, but he did have a tendency to take everything really, really seriously for years". He also became a sex symbol. In 2012,

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

ranked Picard, as depicted in ''The Next Generation'' series and films, as the 3rd top character of the ''Star Trek'' universe, behind Spock and Kirk in first and second place respectively. In 2017,

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

ranked Picard as the number one best character on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''. In 2017, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' ranked Picard the number one most attractive person in the ''Star Trek'' universe, ahead of

Nyota Uhura Nyota Uhura () is a fictional character in the '' Star Trek'' franchise. In the original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six ''Star Trek'' feature films. A younger Uhura is ...

(#2),

(#3), and

Seven of Nine Seven of Nine (born Annika Hansen) is a fictional character introduced in the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Portrayed by Jeri Ryan, she is a former Borg drone who joins the crew of the Federation starship ' ...

(#4). In 2018, Screen Rant ranked Picard as one of the top 8 most powerful characters of ''Star Trek'', remarking that Picard is "Played with trademark charm and gravitas by Patrick Stewart." In 2018, CBR ranked Picard the second best

character of ''Star Trek''; Kirk being the first. In 2019, Jean-Luc Picard was ranked the 8th sexiest ''Star Trek'' character by

SyFy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

. In July 2019, Screen Rant ranked Picard the 6th smartest character of ''Star Trek''.

Other actors

The character of Jean-Luc Picard has also been portrayed by: *

David Birkin David Tristan Birkin (born 1977) is a British artist working with photography and performance art. He is a Senior Lecturer at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. Birkin is the co-founder of Visible Justice, a rese ...

in " Rascals", November 15, 1992 — a child version. * Marcus Nash in "

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

", February 15, 1993 — a young man version, just graduated from Starfleet. * Tom Hardy in '' Star Trek: Nemesis'' (2002) — photograph, and also as a younger clone, Shinzon * Dylan Von Halle in "The Star Gazer" of Star Trek: Picard, March 3, 2022 - a child version.

References

External links

Biography of Jean-Luc Picard
at the official ''Star Trek'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Picard, Jean-Luc Star Trek: The Next Generation characters Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters Star Trek (film franchise) characters Fictional ambassadors Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder Fictional diplomats Fictional explorers Fictional fencers Fictional French people Fictional historians Fictional human rights activists Fictional military strategists Starfleet admirals Starfleet captains Television characters introduced in 1987 Crossover characters in television Star Trek: Picard characters Internet memes introduced in 2004 Xenoarchaeology in fiction de:Figuren im Star-Trek-Universum#Captain Jean-Luc Picard