Captain Jean-Luc Picard's Mysterious History In 'Star Trek' Explained

One of the most important things to happen to Jean-Luc Picard came when he was captured by the Borg. He was quickly assimilated into the Collective, but not in the same manner as a typical drone. He was given an identity, Locutus of Borg, so he could be used as a tool to assimilate the Federation. All his memories of battle tactics and ship emplacements were downloaded into the Collective, and Locutus led the Borg in several engagements, including a devastating conflict at Wolf-359.

Eventually, Picard was de-Borgified, and he went back to being himself. Granted, the event left him mentally scarred for life, and in each engagement with the Borg, he used what he learned to great effect, though with the accompaniment of PTSD. Interestingly, the reason all of this happened wasn't due to a pre-planned story arc and was instead the result of a contract dispute. Patrick Stewart hadn't made things official following the series' third season, so the writers came up with a way of handling the character should he need to be written off the show.

When he first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, fans were left wondering why Jean-Luc Picard, a Frenchman, had an English accent. This was something of an annoyance to fans for several decades. After all, it didn't make any sense, and the franchise didn't bother explaining it in any real way other than to say the French language had become archaic over the centuries. That changed in 2022 when Star Trek: Picard aired its second season. The show handled the explanation in a brief, concise manner.

While explaining his family's chateau and history, Picard says that the Picards were forced to flee France during World War II. They resettled in England, where they remained for centuries before finally returning to the family's homestead in France. By this time, every member of the Picard family had English accents, including Jean-Luc, so the question of how/why he spoke like an Englishman was finally put to bed… after 35 years.

When Gene Roddenberry was putting Star Trek: The Next Generation together, he settled on Ryker as the more Kirk-like character. That's why the good Commander is always taking off his shirt and making it with alien ladies. Patrick Stewart's character was very different, as he was portrayed as a more grounded military man who didn't delight in dalliances whenever the situation arose. As it happens, Patrick Stewart wasn't too happy with this, and he sought to get his character some action.

He got his wish via the episode "Captain's Holiday," which gives the good captain some much-needed shore leave. He makes his way to Risa, where he plans to take it easy, read a book or two, and be left alone. He soon meets Vash and finds himself thrust into an adventure alongside the intriguing woman who keeps him from relaxing. Of course, he winds up enjoying himself despite all of the interruptions, and they form a romantic-ish relationship.

Star Trek: The Next Generation aired in the late-1980s to mid-'90s, so it wasn't as liberal with profanity as shows are today. Still, if you go back through and listen to everything Captain Picard says, it becomes clear that the man had a penchant for profanity. This is only apparent to people who understand the French language or, at any rate, the so-called 'bad words' of the French language.

Whenever he got the chance to do so, Stewart would throw a "merde" into a scene. In English, the word is meaningless, but in French, it means 's**t." While that's not really a big deal to someone in the 2020s, back when it aired, saying that word wasn't exactly normal. Some of Picard's other favorite swear words are 'damn' and 'hell,' though these aren't as harsh to a censor's ears as the aforementioned French word.

The first person to play Captain Jean-Luc Picard was Patrick Stewart. He landed the role in 1987 and went on to play the character, off and on, well into the 2020s. Thus far, Stewart has played Captain Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Picard, and the feature-length films for the Next Generation era, Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis. His picture and/or voice were also used in numerous video games and the series Short Treks, and Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Next Generation featured two additional actors in the role, both of which were younger depictions. In the TNG episode “Rascals,” Picard, Guinan, and Ro Laren were de-aged to their childhood bodies (With all their adult memories intact). David Birkin played that version. In “Tapestry,” a flashback shows Picard being stabbed while still young (with a full head of hair). Marcus Nash played that version. Tom Hardy played a young version of Picard (photo only) in Star Trek: Nemesis and Dylan Von Halle portrayed the child version in Picard.

Star Trek has been around since the late 1960s, and in all the decades it's been around, there have been quite a lot of captains. Still, a select few are considered to make up the core group of captains in the franchise. The list doesn't include characters who became captains later in future depictions or in alternate timelines; instead, it's the main characters from the TV series, so the Star Trek captains list includes James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Kathryn Janeway, Jonathan Archer, Christopher Pike, and Michael Burnam.

Pike just made the list thanks to Strange New World, which premiered in 2022, and you can also include Carol Freeman, but since she's an animated character, some may not consider her for the list. Regardless, there aren't that many captains on the list, and despite many of them existing in different timelines, Picard has met the most. He met and fought alongside Kirk in Star Trek Generations, met then-Commander Sisko in the Deep Space Nine pilot, and had a communication with then-Admiral Janeway in Star Trek: Nemesis.