The Sci-Fi Horror Legend Who Turned Down Star Trek's Picard Before Patrick Stewart

It's difficult to imagine anyone other than Sir Patrick Stewart leading the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." However, there was a time when the late Yaphet Kotto, an actor known for his roles in "Alien" and "Live and Let Die," was eyed to play Jean-Luc Picard. So, why did he turn down such a prominent role in the "Star Trek" franchise?

"I think I made some wrong decisions in my life, man," Kotto told the Big Issue. "I should have done that but I walked away. When you're making movies, you'd tend to say no to TV. It's like when you're in college and someone asks you to the high school dance. You say no."

However, Kotto isn't the only actor who was on the shortlist to play Picard before Stewart was cast as the USS Enterprise-D's esteemed captain. Mitchell Ryan, Patrick Bauchau, and Roy Thinnes were also in the running at various points. Kotto also turned down the chance to play two notable characters in another hit sci-fi franchise.

Sci-fi fans will remember Yaphet Kotto's role in Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror classic "Alien." In the movie, he plays Parker, the chief engineer on the Nostromo spaceship who falls prey to the Xenomorph. But did you know that starring in "Alien" is one of the reasons he turned down the chance to play Lando Calrissian in the "Star Wars" saga?

"Irvin Kershner had approached me during lunch at Pinewood, and we talked about it, and I told him, number one, I gave my word to do 'Brubaker' in Ohio, and I didn't want to say I'm going to do something and then not do it," Kotto told Nerdist. "So I was glad I had that excuse, because I had the fear that if I went from 'Alien' to 'Star Wars,' that would be it. They'd say, 'Oh, he's a space adventure guy. We have a movie about a police officer or a prison.' 'No, no.' You become typed."

In the same interview, Kotto revealed that his name was also in the hat to play Han Solo before Harrison Ford got the gig. The actor said that Fox didn't want a Black man playing such a prominent character, but George Lucas was keen for him to get the part.