Sir Patrick Stewart was already a successful actor by the time he was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” However, Picard was his first lead role in a television show. He became an international star as the show gained in popularity.
In a recent interview with James Corden on “The Late Late Show,” Stewart admitted that he was making more money than he knew what to do with when TNG hit the screen. Corden asked whether he made any outrageous, large purchases like a luxury car.
Stewart responded that he did, in fact, buy a car. However, his purchase wasn’t nearly as extravagant as expected.
Stewart’s Used Honda
Stewart admitted that he didn’t even know how much money he was making. He knew it was a lot, but the exact amount was a mystery.
“I didn’t know how much was coming in. I knew it was going into a bank account somewhere. I never looked at it.”
So, when he decided to get a new car, he was frugal.
“I bought this cute little Honda to drive around in. And of course, my friends were buying Porsches, and one actually bought an airplane! I won’t tell you which one, but one did.
Later in the interview, Stewart revealed that he didn’t even buy a new Honda. At that point in his life, he’d never purchased a brand new car. Stewart said that he’d always been taught to buy used because it’s cheaper, so that’s what he did.
His TNG Costars Were Embarrassed by His Car
Stewart also told Corden that all of his TNG costars were totally embarrassed by his secondhand sedan.
“When we go out to dinner, which is often because we’re a great family, when it came to going out to the valet parking, they would insist that I did not stand with them… I stood in another part of the sidewalk.”
Stewart wrapped up the hilarious anecdote by saying that his days of buying used cars were long gone.
Stewart Graduated to Luxury Cars
In an interview with The Sunday Times Driving in 2017, Stewart admitted that by the second season of TNG he was collecting luxury cars. His first was a Mercedes coupé. The second, his first automotive true love, was a Jaguar XJS convertible. He told The Sunday Times that he loved the car so much that when he moved back to England he shipped it overseas. Stewart revealed that he still owns that first Jag.
Once Stewart started buying and driving luxury cars, he was hooked. He quickly became a collector and a professional racecar driver. In an interview on the British show “Top Gear” in 2010, Stewart explained why he loves his cars so much.
“There’s one primary reason. We were quite poor when we were growing up. We didn’t have a car. My parents never ever owned a car, of course, didn’t drive. In my street there was one family that owned a car and [they] had this SS Jaguar… Not only was this a fabulously beautiful car, but [they] had a very very attractive daughter… and we would make out in the back of the SS Jaguar… And I wasn’t quite sure at the time which excited me more, the heavy petting or being in the SS Jaguar.”
Stewart’s modest, car-free upbringing certainly explains why his first vehicle purchase after making it big was so frugal. And his escapades in the Jag hint at the car enthusiast he became later in life.
According to the car enthusiasts’ website HotCars.com, Stewart’s collection has included a McLaren 650S, an Audi Q7, a Porsche Panamera, a Toyota Celica that he used to race in, a Lexus RX 450h and a Porsche 911.
However, his main cars are both hybrids. While in England he drives a Lexus RX 450h hybrid and when he’s in the States he drives a Porsche Panamera hybrid.
It’s been quite a long time since the international superstar bought a Honda.
Follow the Heavy on Star Trek Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!
No comments:
Post a Comment