Roy Scheider's Only Western Featured A Sci-Fi Movie & TV Legend

Remember when Chief Brody from "Jaws" made a Western with Captain Picard? Allow me to explain.

Uli Edel's 2002 TV movie "King of Texas" was very openly touted as a modernized version of William Shakespeare's "King Lear." The action was transposed to 19th-century Texas, and King Lear became John Lear, a rich cattle ranch owner. Meanwhile, his three daughters — named Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia in Shakspeare — became Susannah (Marcia Gay Harden), Rebecca (Lauren Holly), and Claudia (Julie Cox).

You may remember the story of "King Lear" from your high school English classes, but just to brush up: Lear, reaching old age and wishing to divest himself of his lands, divides his kingdom in three between his daughters. Goneril and Regan are brazen opportunists who flatter and placate Lear, but Cordelia speaks the truth, telling him he's unwise.

Lear has a loyal friend in the Earl of Gloucester. Here, that character is re-imagined as one Henry Westover, as played by Roy Scheider in the celebrated "Jaws" and "The French Connection" actor's only Western role. As for John Lear himself, he's portrayed by none other than film, TV, and stage legend Patrick Stewart.

Stewart, fittingly, was in a stage production of "King Lear" back in 1968, but "King of Texas" is the closest he's ever come to playing the title character on screen. Trekkies, of course, know Stewart from his prolific stint as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the "Star Trek" franchise. Likewise, comic book fans will be familiar with him thanks to the many times he's played Professor Charles Xavier in films featuring the X-Men and other Marvel Comics characters. (Ironically, Stewart originally turned down the role.)

The cast of "King of Texas" is impressive all around, though, and Shakespeare's original dramatis personae all have modern analogues.

In "King of Texas," Lear's notoriously wise Fool is turned into a character named Rip, as played by stalwart comedic actor David Alan Grier. Here, in fact, the Fool and the smaller character of the Earl of Kent are both compressed to make Rip.

As for Goneril's husband, the Duke of Albany, he's turned into Henry Tumlinson, a character portrayed by Colm Meaney. The Irish actor notably played the role of Chief Miles O'Brien on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and, later, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," so he and Patrick Stewart worked together a lot. Not only that, Miles O'Brien is the most important man in "Star Trek" history.

Moving on: Regan's husband, the Duke of Cornwall, becomes a character named Mr. Highsmith, played by Patrick Bergen. In the original play, Cornwall villainously rips out the Earl of Gloucester's eyes, so the Gloucester analogue, Roy Scheider's Henry Westover, better watch his back.

There's also a conceit in "King Lear" where a character named Edgar, ousted by his illegitimate brother, pretends to be a beggar to insinuate himself back into the royal court. There, Edgar ends up caring for his blinded father, the Earl of Gloucester. In "King of Texas," the Edgar character becomes Thomas Westover, as played by Liam Waite. What's more, his illegitimate brother is transformed into a character named Emmett, as portrayed by Matt Letscher. 

Apologies for the deep-cut "King Lear" parallels, but we Shakespeare nerds need to flex our muscles every so often. Although, to be clear, "King of Texas" uses modern language, not Shakespeare's text.

If you will indulge me one final parallel: inInShakespeare's play, Cordelia attempts to retake her father's split-up kingdom with the aid of the French. In "King of Texas," Claudia teams up with a nearby wealthy landowner named Menchaca, who is played by Steven Bauer.

"King of Texas" was noted by Trekkies and sci-fi fans because of the presence of Patrick Stewart and Colm Meaney, but it didn't cause a huge stir in popular culture overall. Stewart, Roy Scheider, and Marcia Gay Harden were all nominated for Satellite Awards, but none of them won. The film wasn't widely reviewed, and the reviews that were published were all mixed at best. Case in point: It has a 50% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Writing for New York Magazine, John Leonard was downright offended by how bad "King of Texas" was, writing that jettisoning Shakespeare's language from an open "King Lear" adaptation was a churlish effort. "Why ever should we want Shakespeare without his poetry?," he noted. "Not even some south-of-the-border Yankee imperialism can save this from howling effrontery." Even on Letterboxed, many reviews are warm at best, with the bulk of them awarding the film three stars (out of five). On top of that, many users have noted that Stewart's performance is somehow good and bad at the same time. 

Stewart, a legit legend, continued to work unabated, of course. "X2: X-Men United" arrived a year after "King of Texas" (raising the bar for superhero movies at the box office in the process), and his credits just kept rolling in. Likewise, Scheider continued to rack up film and TV credits through his death in 2008. Critics didn't love it, but no one's career was harmed by "King of Texas."