Patrick Stewart Wore A Wig For His Star Trek Audition – But His Baldness May Have Sealed The Deal
Patrick Stewart has noted in multiple interviews, at convention appearances, and in his new autobiography "Making It So: A Memoir," that he began to lose his hair as early as age 17. Throughout his decades-long career, Stewart was rarely seen wearing wigs or hairpieces, at least on screen. One might stumble upon his performance as Sejanus in the famed 1976 miniseries "I, Claudius," and see him sporting a curly-haired wig. Or perhaps one might catch his 1974 performance in the BBC's version of "Antony and Cleopatra" wherein his Enobarbus had a mere receding hairline. In both cases, Stewart doesn't look natural. A hairless Patrick Stewart is now so familiar to audiences through his highly visible performances in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in multiple "X-Men" films that it's difficult to accept him with hair.
But there was a time when Stewart's baldness caused him anxiety. Evidently, he owned a special wig that he wore specifically for auditions. His baldness was also an element of contention between the early showrunners of "Next Generation" and the show's creator Gene Roddenberry. Several reports, including footage from William Shatner's documentary "Chaos on the Bridge," claim that Roddenberry wasn't fond of Stewart in general and especially didn't like his hairless pate.
In "Making It So," however, Stewart recalled a moment from his "Next Generation" audition that put any anxieties about his baldness to rest. He was — and still is — a stirring and excellent actor, and his grasp of the character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard impressed many of the bigwigs at Paramount (Roddenberry notwithstanding). He did, however, wear his wig to the audition, and it wasn't until a makeup room incident that Stewart's baldness was seemingly accepted.
Joy Zapata
Patrick Stewart goes into a great deal of detail about his audition for "Star Trek: The Next Generation." In "Making It So," he talks about a brief acting gig he had at UCLA, and how one of the men who was working on the then-nascent "Star Trek: The Next Generation" saw him and arranged a meeting with Gene Roddenberry at his home. Stewart recalls the first awkward meeting with Roddenberry and the visits to the Paramount lot on Melrose. He recalls meeting with the director of the "Next Generation" pilot, Corey Allen, in secret, getting invaluable inside-track advice. He even remembers the difficulty parking; Los Angeles natives can tell you that the Paramount lot is a painful place to commute to.
Stewart also recalled a woman named Joy Zapata who helped him get his wig on for one of his final "Next Generation" auditions. He wrote:
"Her name was Joy Zapata, and it was the start of a lovely friendship between us. Joy had recognized me from the headshots she'd been sent in preparation for my arrival — it was she who was charged with fitting my hairpiece for the audition, and she had been diligent in her research. Joy went ahead with the job of getting my wig in place that morning. Then it was off to a room next door where the Paramount suits were waiting."
Stewart wrote that he was ushered into a scary, large room full of executives. He read a scene with Allen, took some direction, and did it again. He wore his wig. After a curt, "I don't think we need to hear anything more. Thank you, Patrick. Someone will be in touch," Stewart went back to Zapata to remove the wig.
The final audition took place in the makeup chair.
'I think they liked what they saw!'
Patrick Stewart recalled his interaction with Joy Zapata, the removal of the wig ... and the curious interruption. Stewart wrote:
"I retreated to the little next-door room, where Joy Zapata was waiting with a big smile on her beautiful face. In a breathy whisper, she said, 'That was great. Let's get that thing off your head.' We did, and I indeed began to breathe a little more easily. But there was a sudden knock on the door, and in walked the three executives. S***, here comes the bad news. But all they did was thank me once more, wish me a good day, and take off."
What was that about? It seems that Zapata knew exactly what it was about and was happy to fill Stewart in:
"When the door closed, Joy began jumping up and down gleefully. 'You know why they did that?' she said. 'They wanted to see what you looked like without the hairpiece. And I think they liked what they saw!'"
Stewart would, of course, sign on to play Captain Picard, and would play the part for seven seasons, four feature films, and three seasons of "Star Trek: Picard" decades later. Apart from three episodes wherein audiences saw Picard as a young man ("Rascals," "Tapestry," "Violations,") he never wore a wig. Even in the 24th century, bald is beautiful. Indeed, "Star Trek" featured many bald male characters (Captain Sisko, The Doctor, etc.). In a world where false hair could likely be implanted with miracle sci-fi technologies, men don't seem so concerned with their vanity. Stewart's bald head changed the future for the better.