This is why Jean-Luc Picard didn't have a French accent

By: H&I Staff     Posted: February 14, 2022, 3:08PM   

Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s French heritage is referenced many times throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation. Having visited both his family home and vineyard in France, Château Picard, Picard held his family roots close to him.

One common question that has been brought up over the years: Why does Picard speak with a British accent rather than French?

Many fans of the series already know the canon reason behind Picard’s missing accent: by the time TNG takes place, the French language itself is hardly ever used and seen as archaic. Because not many people spoke the language in the 24th Century, it would make sense Picard never grew up around it and developed the accent.

However, prior to his story reason for not speaking with the accent, Patrick Stewart did attempt to bring the dialect to the final frontier right after he was cast.

In a recent interview, Patrick Stewart revealed that after landing the role of the next Captain of the Enterprise, the plan was to have Picard say his lines with the French accent. During a table read Stewart used his best accent which did not impress the producers. To make things easier they decided it was fine for Stewart to use his normal British accent.

The writer would keep Picard's French roots and create the canonical reason for his British accent later in the series. Hear what our Fench Captain might have sounded like in "ze final fronter" here.

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