Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: Liam Shaw, paramount, star trek, Star Trek Picard, Terry Matalas, Todd Stashwick

Star Trek: Picard: Todd Stashwick on Exploring Liam Shaw's Headspace

Star Trek: Picard star Todd Stashwick opens up about U.S.S. Titan-A Captain Liam Shaw, his backstory, reuniting with EP Terry Matalas & more.

There's no question where Todd Stashwick's Captain Liam Shaw's loyalties lie two episodes in on Star Trek: Picard, and it certainly wasn't with Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). When we meet him eating his blue "steak," our two heroes find out how exactly by-the-book he is running a tight and efficient ship, much to the annoyance of his first officer, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), now Cmdr. Annika Hansen, her original name before her Borg assimilation. As the two Next Generation vets board his ship under false pretenses, he immediately denies their request upon their suggestion to alter course. Following the premiere, Stashwick spoke with Trek Movie to offer more about Shaw, his past with Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, and more.

Star Trek: Todd Stashwick's "12 Monkeys" Reunion with Terry Matalas

Stashwick and Matalas met on a certain SYFY series. "We were thick as thieves. From the moment we met at my audition for '12 Monkeys,' we were like, 'Oh, I know you,' he said." Stashwick's performance lingered with Matalas when casting came for the captain of the U.S.S. Titan-A. "Shaw was developed by the writers in the writers' room. They obviously knew they wanted to bring me along for the ride. So I think I kind of was already in the development process, whether I was present or not. They already knew my voice because of the four seasons of '12 Monkeys.'"

In Shaw's interactions with Seven, Picard, and Riker, he reminds them of his priorities. "When you've lived as long as I have, there are bumps along the way," Stashwick said. "And there are traumatic events that happen in one's past that actually might make them really good at their job. His history actually prepares him to keep his crew very safe. That's his primary job is to keep everybody alive." As far as any Trek prep work, "I did my brush-up on kind of a chain of command and understanding rank and positions on the bridge and refreshed myself with that and understanding what class of ship I have," he said. "And I wanted to know all that stuff to feel prepared. But everything about the character is on the page. And all I had to do was read it because they wrote such beautiful, beautiful scripts." For more on Stashwick relishing in fan reaction on Shaw and if Matalas is entertaining a potential spinoff, you can check out the whole interview here. Star Trek: Picard streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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