麻豆视频

Patrick Stewart of Star Trek (and Shakespeare) fame shared his wit and wisdom Saturday with attendees at the Glenn Miller Ballroom on the CU Boulder campus as part of national book tour

Whether you knew it or not, Saturday was a special day in Colorado. That鈥檚 because Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued an official proclamation naming Oct. 7 as 鈥淧atrick Stewart Day.鈥�

The governor presented the citation to the actor of stage and screen fame on Saturday before a capacity crowd at the Glenn Miller Ballroom on the 麻豆视频 campus, where Stewart was appearing as part of a national book tour to promote his new memoir, Making It So.

Polis told the audience he issued the proclamation because of Stewart鈥檚 accomplishments as an actor and philanthropist, as well as an advocate against domestic violence and for women鈥檚 rights and the LGBT community.

鈥淲hen it comes to declaring a day in honor of a true icon and hero to many, we must 鈥楳ake It So,鈥欌�� declared the governor, who is widely known for his love of science fiction and fantasy books and movies. His proclamation drew cheers from the capacity audience.

, producing artistic director of the , led Stewart through a 45-plus-minute conversation touching on his upbringing in rural Yorkshire, England; how he got started in regional theater and his time performing as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company; his success in TV and films; and his decision to write a memoir.

鈥淚 read your book and I loved it,鈥� Orr said, then asked Stewart, 83, why he wrote it.

鈥淐OVID,鈥� the actor deadpanned, to laughter from the audience. He explained that he had previously been asked to write his memoir but had always begged off, saying he was too busy with work.

Seated on a cushioned chair onstage with Orr, Stewart said his prior excuses about being too busy to write a memoir were only partially accurate. In truth, he left school at age 15 to become a full-time actor and said he wasn鈥檛 sure he was up to the challenge of writing a book.

Still, he said he always loved reading, and he dedicated his book to the memory of Ruth Wynn Owen and Cecil Dormand, whom he credited as being two inspirational teachers of English and of theater who helped start him on his professional journey.

Stewart鈥檚 role in regional theater paved the way for him to join the Royal Theater Company, where he studied and performed with such veterans of the stage as Judi Dench, Ben Kingsley and Ian McKellen.

Orr asked what it was like being a star in the company of such famed thespians, to which Stewart responded, 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 see ourselves that way.鈥�

In retrospect, being timid at that time is one of his deep regrets, Stewart said. If he could today give advice to his 40-year-old self, it would be to 鈥渂e braver.鈥� That鈥檚 also the advice he said he gives today to younger actors, telling them to 鈥渂e fearless.鈥�

Because of his timidness, Stewart said he didn鈥檛 get to know McKellen until much later, when they were in the first X-Men film together. On the studio set, they had adjacent trailers, and went on to become great friends. Stewart added that he considers his performances with McKellen in the plays No Man鈥檚 Land and Waiting for Godot personal highlights of his career.

Orr peppered Stewart with questions about Star Trek, including his first thoughts about the TV project (Stewart said he initially believed the show might end after just six months), about Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry鈥檚 thoughts on casting him in the role as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Roddenberry was not a fan, initially, Stewart later learned), regarding famous admirers of the show (which included Frank Sinatra and a former U.S. joint chiefs of staff who asked for permission to sit in the captain鈥檚 chair on set), his interactions with his co-stars; and why, after seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and four movies, he was coaxed back into the captain鈥檚 chair in 2020 for the Picard TV series (because he came to believe there was still room to tell new stories about the famous starship captain).

As for his future, Stewart said he is still open to taking on roles, including in Shakespearean theater. That prompted Orr to say that he knew of a Shakespearian theater in Colorado.

鈥淒o you have a small theater?鈥� Stewart asked.

鈥淔our hundred seats,鈥� Orr replied.

鈥淓gggggh,鈥� Stewart responded, to laughter. He said that these days he is primarily interested in performing in small, intimate venues.

Stewart鈥檚 visit to Boulder was part of a seven-city, cross-country book tour, with most stops in bigger cities, including New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

So, why Boulder?

Stewart told the crowd that the decision was deliberate, because his wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, attended the University of Colorado and had previously performed in the Glenn Miller Ballroom. She sang in various bands while in college.

鈥淪he was educated here in Boulder. And that is one of the reasons that we are here, because I know what a great impact it had upon her life and how much she loved this place, and the lasting relationships that it created,鈥� he said.

Saturday鈥檚 event was sponsored by the Boulder Book Store and the Center of Student Involvement, part of CU student government. Students had the opportunity earlier in the week to sign up for free tickets.

While there were college-age men and women wearing CU attire in attendance, the biggest fans seated in the front rows tended to skew a bit older.

Kristol Cummings and her husband, Craig, drove six hours from Nebraska to attend the event, even though they didn鈥檛 have tickets. They said they felt extremely lucky to score additional tickets from people they met by chance in line.

Self-described Trekkies Liz Star, Alice听Slaikeu听and Stephanie Peterson came from even farther afield, flying from their hometown of Minneapolis to Denver on Thursday. On Friday, they each got matching Star Trek insignia arm tattoos, and on Saturday they arrived at the Glenn Miller Ballroom at 1:30 p.m. for the 6:30 p.m. event to be some of the first people in line for the general-seating event.

The only person to arrive earlier was Dan Valentine of Greeley, who showed up at 8:30 a.m. Valentine said it was an evening he will not soon forget after Stewart personally answered the question he submitted in writing in advance about what advice Stewart would give his younger self, while Valentine was sitting in the front row and was acknowledged by Stewart. Still, did he really need to arrive so early Saturday morning?

Said Valentine, 鈥淚t was totally, totally worth it.鈥�

Top image: Sarah Coulter/Paramount+

Did you enjoy this article?听听Passionate about theater? Show your support.

听