"Star Trek" actor Patrick Stewart opens up about his greatest regret, iconic career in new memoir

At the age of 83, Patrick Stewart is stepping into the world of literature. The actor, renowned for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the "Star Trek" series, recounts his life story in "Making It So: A Memoir."

In the book, out Tuesday, the actor gets personal and candidly addresses his greatest regret: his two failed marriages. He has since found happiness in his current marriage to Sunny Ozell, and in an interview with CBS News' Vladimir Duthiers, reflected on what he believes is the key to a successful relationship.

"I think it's being open and a good listener and to make connection. You don't have to be exactly the same but it's necessary that you can share – I think very important. So sharing and respecting," he said.

Stewart found fame as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," although many has doubted the series would be successful. Stewart said creator Gene Roddenberry initially turned him away. 

"He was talked into employing me by the other producers," Stewart said. 

Despite initial skepticism from Roddenberry and from his close friend, actor Ian McKellen, who also advised Stewart against taking the role, the show went on to achieve immense success and turned Stewart into a household name.

Stewart starred in the show until 1994 and later continued to make a name for himself in Hollywood, gaining further fame when he portrayed Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" series. He returned to the Starfleet in 2020 for the spinoff series: "Star Trek: Picard" on Paramount+. 

Stewart said his shift from a working class kid is due to the influence of people like his English teacher, Ceil Dormand, and Ruth Owen. He dedicated his memoir to them because they "had the biggest impact on my shifting my life from a working class boy with very little prospect to a person getting acting training with far cleverer people than I was."

Stewart said he has been an avid reader since the age of 5. He also said he had a modest upbringing and had ambition for something better — but that writing a book was never part of it. 

"Perhaps because I was too familiar with great books and knew I couldn't do that, so I just tried to create a conversation. But I was the only one talking. But as if two or three us were sitting around a fireplace with perhaps a glass of wine chattering. That what I was aiming for. I'm glad it seems to have come about," he said.

The book is published by Simon and Schuster, which is a division of CBS News' parent company Paramount Global.

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