Stewart On Hiatus From Sci-Fi

Patrick Stewart is not certain that he will ever play Captain Jean-Luc Picard or Professor Charles Xavier again, but he isn't complaining, since he's working on Shakespeare plays at the moment in his native Britain.

Though three endings to X-Men: The Last Stand were filmed, including the one which shows after the closing credits of the theatrical release, Stewart remains uncertain of the fate of Professor X, he said in an interview at the Winnipeg Sun. "I sat with Jimmy Marsden (Cyclops) and when the credits began to roll, we got up to leave, and we were told, 'Sit down, it ain't over.' What we saw was a very edited version of a scene I shot in Vancouver during first week of production," Stewart explained.

X3 has made more than $120 million dollars, making additional installments in the series likely, though rumours suggest that the next project may be a prequel focusing on Magneto and Xavier in their youth, which would not necessarily involve Stewart or Ian McKellen, who play the older characters. And Stewart does not expect to be involved in the eleventh Star Trek movie, of which he said, "There's been no mention that it would in any way involve Next Generation at all," and added, "I think, frankly, I'd be ambivalent...it's like a love affair you're just starting to get over."

Currently Stewart is working on Antony and Cleopatra and The Tempest with the Royal Shakespeare Company. "I am so utterly home again. I am living proof that the adage about not going home again is untrue," he declared. "I'm in Stratford-on-Avon, in the same dressing room I was in in 1967, the same cork tiles on the floor...I look out the window, and the view has not changed. It's the Avon and the willows and the swans and the cricket being played."

However, Stewart joked that he was not sorry to share a makeup trailer while filming X-Men: The Last Stand. ""With some of these actresses on this set, it's no hardship at 6 a.m. to see Halle Berry and Famke [Janssen] and Rebecca [Romijn]." He also enjoyed reacquainting himself with Kelsey Grammer, who plays Beast in the movie and had apepared on The Next Generation.

The full interview is at The Winnipeg Sun.

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