Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) is back home in England, and he told the Guardian Newspaper that knows how it must feel to be in the country's top job.

"Sitting in the captain's chair of the Enterprise is rather like sitting on the throne of England. And probably marginally more important," he said.

Stewart's comments came as a response to years of the British press belittling his career. Many members of the media criticised Star Trek as an unfitting way for a serious actor to earn a living. After appearing in over 150 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, performing in Broadway and West End shows, blockbuster movies and three Trek spin-off films, he has more than silenced his critics.

He is due to start filming work on the next Trek feature film later in the year and was keen to squash certain rumours. "I've heard people say it will be the final one but that is not my opinion," he said. This despite comments from other areas that it will be the final film to feature the Next Generation cast (story).

Stewart commented about the state of the film industry. "I think film-making has changed and is no longer in the hands of those who make the movies," he said. "It is probably only satisfying if you are Johnny Depp. How I wish I were Johnny Depp - but I ain't."

The actor received most satisfaction from stage work, and wants to return to the Royal Shakespeare Company, "The itch has grown sharper and I hope it will get scratched soon," he said. Stewart is in Britain to appear in 'Jonson Over Jordan' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. But he was keen to dispel rumours that the play marks a dramatic return to British theatre.

"I am not auditioning for the British theatre. If I were, I certainly wouldn't have picked Johnson Over Jordan," he explained. "I'm here because I wanted to do this play and I wanted to work with Jude [Jude Kelly, 'Jonson Over Jordan's' director] again; because I wanted to live in my house in Wharfdale and because I wanted to see Huddersfield Town play."

More from Stewart, including his dissatisfaction with movies, and fulfilling his ambition of playing Hamlet, can be found in the original article at the Guardian. Thanks go out to Andrew Torrance for this!

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