Though there are a couple of new faces onboard for the third season of “Picard,” no new character has broken out more than Todd Stashwick’s Captain Liam Shaw.
Shaw is a former engineer turned captain of the U.S.S. Titan-A (Riker’s old ship) with a brusque attitude who has little time for pleasantries, formality and even courtesy. He tells it straight, holds grudges, is impatient, is not afraid to butt heads with Admiral Picard, yet also geeks out about meeting Geordi La Forge.
He’s arguably the most 21st-century character amongst his 24th-century counterparts and it’s a part Stashwick himself seems to love playing. In a recent interview with Decider (via Slashfilm, Stashwick says he would happily return to the role if the franchises need him again.
Speaking with the outlet, he says he’s aware of how long a memory the franchise has with actors coming back years, even decades later, to reprise their roles. He’s good with that possibility:
“[T]he way I see it, I am Aragorn and they will always have my sword, right? The story I tell is that Jeri Ryan was saying that when she started on ‘Voyager’ they gave her a t-shirt with the ‘Star Trek’ delta that had bars in front of it that said ‘Lifer.’
So, like, I am forever a part of this legacy, and they have me if they need me in any capacity. If all I ever get to do in the franchise is those episodes of ‘Enterprise’ and season three of ‘Picard,’ man, what an embarrassment of riches.”
The “Enterprise” mention there is that Stashwick had a small role as a Romulan soldier plotting with the Vulcan high command Administrator in the “Kir’Shara” episode of the fourth season of “Enterprise”.
The comments come as fan calls for a “Star Trek: Legacy” or “Star Trek: Titan” series following some of the new and old characters have rung out across social media. We may get an answer imminently as First Contact Day, celebrating all things “Star Trek,” comes tomorrow and, usually, some Trek-related news is revealed.
The third season of “Picard” airs the eighth of its ten-episode run this week.
