I saw Patrick Stewart live twice.

The first time was in a production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?” at the Guthrie. The moment he stepped on stage, I reflexively thought “Hey! It’s Captain Picard!” …and then, not 2 seconds later, before he’d even spoken a word: “No, no, it’s not, it just…kinda looks like him.”

Just his gate, the way he held himself, he’d become a completely different person. I’d imprinted on Picard in my formative years, and Stewart’s acting was so damn good that it took 2 wordless seconds to wipe Picard from my mind.

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