Once again Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard) has described his relationship with Star Trek: The Next Generation as "a romantic relationship that's over", saying that while he hasn't ruled out another appearance in a Star Trek film, he did not think it likely.

Just as he did while promoting the most recent X-Men film (story), Stewart told the UK's Telegraph that he was always ambivalent, while working on the show that made him famous, about the theatrical roles he was missing. "From perhaps the second season, when we all realised that we were not going to be a failure - as we had been advised we were - that we might actually see out the seven years of our contracts, something wasn't quite right," he said. "Even though it was thrilling to be in Hollywood, to be making a very successful television series, to be making some money for the first time in my life, I couldn't stop thinking about what I was missing."

Stewart stopped reading about productions in the West End and Stratford because he was envious that he could not appear in them. "I had this panic," he explained. "If I was going to stay away from the theatre for so long and have only a camera to communicate to, I might lose it. I might lose my nerve."

One of Star Trek's producers pointed out to Stewart that more people were likely to see him in the Next Generation pilot than during his entire acting career to date, and Stewart credits the role of Picard with making it possible for him to do his one-man production of A Christmas Carol. "I sold the first two weeks of the run to Star Trek fans," he admitted. "[Star Trek] was important because of its commercial significance to me as an actor."

Stewart believes that the success of Star Trek on television hampered his film career in Hollywood and remains bitter that the series was never nominated for creative Emmy Awards. Now back at Stratford performing Shakespeare, he said he would consider appearing in another X-Men film but would prefer to be given a contract with then Royal Shakespeare Company.

For more, including a list of Stewart's recollections of his major roles, the full article is here.

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