is reserved for Brent Spiner.
Stewart’s involvement in a scene from “Henry V” isn’t surprising, given the actor’s long history with the Bard. Prior to “Star Trek,” Stewart was a widely celebrated stage and screen actor who was a part of the Royal Shakespeare Company going all the way back to 1966. He made his Shakespearean debut the year previous, playing Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice” at the Old Vic, and started up his Royal Shakespeare gig in ’66, playing the Player King in “Hamlet.” He would go on to play the Dauphin in “Henry V,” Grumio in “The Taming of the Shrew,” Cornwall in “King Lear,” the amusing Launce in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” and both Oberon and Snout in two different tours of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
So, yeah, Stewart was hardly a Shakespeare neophyte when asked to read a few lines for “Henry V” on “Star Trek.” One can almost see Stewart’s relief, slipping into territory he was very familiar with.
