When Sir Patrick Stewart was approached to reprise his role as Jean-Luc for what became Star Trek: Picard, he was won over by the opportunity to add some extra nuance to his character that maybe he didn’t get to show in The Next Generation. The actor hasn’t gone so far, though, as to say he prefers playing the Starfleet legend in the contemporary series, but his co-star certainly has.
Jeri Ryan has revealed that she enjoys portraying Seven of Nine more on Picard than on Voyager. Recently, she was asked by a fan on Twitter “which role was more fun to play?” and in response, the actress gave an enthusiastic: “Picard!”
Picard!
— Jeri Ryan (@JeriLRyan) January 29, 2021
Ryan came aboard the U.S.S. Voyager for season 4 onwards, becoming a breakout favorite with viewers. As an ex-Borg, Seven of Nine had limited emotional range and was mostly defined by how she slowly regained and understood her humanity again after being removed from the Collective. As for Picard, Ryan joined the show four episodes in and got to portray a more older, more human Seven who had been through a lot since we last saw her.
The actress has previously opened up about the challenge of playing a version of Seven who was so different to what came before, revealing that it was co-star Jonathan Del Arco who helped her find the right way of approaching it. It seems the difficulty was worth it, however, if Ryan is confident that she has more fun portraying the character now than she did back in the 1990s.
It’s a good thing she’ll be returning as Seven, then, and perhaps in a more regular capacity, for Star Trek: Picard season 2. She was last seen aboard La Sirena with Jean-Luc and his crew, with it hinted that she’s already sparked up a romance with Raffi, so it seems she’ll be a member of the team from now on.
