While in New York to promote the upcoming genre sequal X2: X-Men United this week, Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) said he is unlikely to return to the role which made him a household name.

"I've probably said goodbye to Picard forever now," Stewart told Lisa Zlotnick at Cinema Confidential.

While there was talk of further TNG adventures if Star Trek Nemesis had done well at the box office, the film's lukewarm reception has all but ruled that out. "I think the Next Generation is over with," the actor said.

Stewart said the part of the tunic-tugging Enterprise captain has affected his chances of scoring certain types of roles. "You want to be seen as an actor, and not as somebody who can be stereotyped and written off," he told New York Newsday. According to the web site, one role Stewart was rejected for went to an actor who won an Academy Award for the part.

The actor has also had his fair share of encounters with obsessive Trek fans over the years. One incident at a performance of a Shakespeare play sorely tested Stewart's resolve. "I went on stage at the Broadhurst Theater as Prospero in The Tempest, only to find two people sitting in the front row in Starfleet uniforms, and I wanted to hurt them."

To read more from Stewart, head over to Cinema Confidential and New York Newsday. United Press International has also posted a short interview with the actor here. Thanks to 'OdoGoddess' for some of this!

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