Star Trek Almost Introduced A Black Captain Picard Before Patrick Stewart Was Cast

Taking on the role of a new captain within the "Star Trek" franchise is a tall order, but with "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Patrick Stewart had many asking, "Captain Kirk, who?" Stewart brought gravitas and intellectualism into Captain Jean-Luc Picard, even returning to the iconic part years later with the series simply titled "Picard." It's hard to envision anyone else as the character, but several other actors, including Yaphet Kotto, were considered. 

The Black Jewish actor spoke with Big Issue in 2015 about his career, including parts he did and didn't play. When asked about turning down Captain Picard, Kotto responded, "I think I made some wrong decisions in my life, man. I should have done that but I walked away. When you're making movies, you'd tend to say no to TV. It's like when you're in college and someone asks you to the high school dance. You say no." Yaphet Kotto already had some amazing on-screen performances by the time "Star Trek: The Next Generation" came around, with roles in "Live and Let Die," "Alien," and 1980's "Othello." 

Had Kotto played Picard, it would've been significant to make the protagonist of a major science-fiction TV series a Black man, especially back in the 1980s. Star Trek has always been about breaking barriers, and Kotto's potential casting is seemingly confirmed with a published casting list, as seen on Letters of Note. In addition to Stewart and Kotto, other names touted for Picard include Mitch Ryan, Roy Thinnes, and Patrick Bauchau.

It's unclear how deep into consideration Yaphet Kotto was for Captain Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." The casting list does have Patrick Stewart listed first under "Picard," and there's this subsequent message: "[Patrick Bauchau] and Patrick Stewart seem to be the favorites for the role of 'Picard.'" Ultimately, it sounds like he wasn't interested in committing to a TV show at that time. However, there was another science-fiction franchise he was seemingly interested in joining, but that didn't pan out either. 

In 2019, Kotto told Nerdist how George Lucas wanted him to play Han Solo, "I was in the running for [Han Solo]. They wanted me for that role and it was a racial decision where I didn't get it... I don't think Fox was ready to, at that time, have me playing Han Solo. George Lucas himself has told people, 'We were going in Yaphet's direction.' But they went another direction." In addition to almost having a Black Picard, the world could've had a Black Han Solo. While it sounds like Kotto rejected Picard of his own accord, forces outside his control prevented him from joining "Star Wars."

Even without Picard and Han Solo, Kotto amassed an impressive resume, playing parts that still broke barriers. As he told Big Issue, "That was my plan, to play parts that would open up the doors for others." From playing a Black James Bond villain to a Black engineer in space in "Alien," Yaphet Kotto accomplished a great deal throughout his extraordinary career.