Todd Stashwick Talks ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 3 [Interview]

Until Star Trek: Picard Season 3, the only people to be against Picard have been enemies, not people within the rank and file of Starfleet. So Captain Shaw’s less than savory “response and reception to them is unexpected,” according to Todd Stashwick.

As most sci-fi fans know, Jean-Luc Picard is one of the most iconic figures in the Star Trek universe. What makes Picard so much fun is the level of respect and admiration his mere presence commands. 

I recently spoke with actor Todd Stashwick about his role as the main antagonist of Picard and what we can learn from his way of handling the Captain’s Chair. (You can watch the full interview below.)

First and foremost, Stashwick wanted to dive into what makes Shaw who he is and why he’s so against Picard and Riker showing up and throwing their weight around. After all, it’s not a reaction anyone expects when Picard asks someone within Starfleet to do something for him.

“Could you imagine somebody coming on board the Enterprise and, without actual orders saying, ‘Hey, we’re changing your course’?” Stashwick pondered. 

Right off the bat, audiences are treated to a man who, instead of respecting Picard’s legendary status, chooses to respect his command and the job they are tasked with doing.

Watch the full interview with Todd Stashwick

To understand his reaction to Picard and Riker is to realize who Shaw is at his core. He’s not a man to be played the fool and will definitely not let someone else come along by surprise and outrank him.

“He’s a blue-collar, kind of pragmatic, suffers no fools,” Stashwick said. “A man who kind of clings to protocol and procedure and chain of command because he deeply believes when you are out in the final frontier, these are the things, these structures that are in place are there to keep people alive.”  

With a character who is so pragmatic and grating on the nerves right out the gate, it’s hard to imagine anyone liking or respecting him as we go along.

“The best way to view Shaw, I think, is as caustic and unnerving as he may seem; he’s a man who carefully considers his decisions and wants to have as much information as he possibly can have at any given moment.”

“We’re also going to get a peak into what motivates him and why. What is his source of pain and trauma, and where does it come from that he might treat these people this way?” Stashwick explained.

This season, one of the big reveals is why Shaw doesn’t respect certain characters over others. During the opening episode, we see a bit of that with Picard and Seven of Nine.

“There’s that intrigue there. Why is he like that? Why isn’t he letting these people be themselves? Yeah, he has to compartmentalize his feelings into different areas. He understands the strength of having Seven of Nine. He recognizes the strength of having her as a first officer, but he also has to reconcile something about her that he doesn’t respect.” 

Stashwick was drawn to Shaw because, as he puts it, he enjoys “bringing an audience in and daring them to like you while giving them all the reasons not to.”

Ultimately, it comes down to giving Shaw time. After all, Stashwick explains, “the man has some growing to do.”

Star Trek: Picard airs Thursdays on Paramount+.

 

 

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