Picard’s Ed Speleers Convinced An Employee Jonathan Frakes Had Been Fired

The interview discussed family at length, because not only are Jack and the La Forge girls introduced, but the crew of the Enterprise is its own found family. When asked about what it felt like being inducted into that family, Speleers shared how quickly he felt at home:

“Yeah, Jonathan Frakes took me under his wing very quickly. Very, very quickly. We have the same U.S. agent who’s wonderful […] Because he texted me saying, ‘I knew you were coming onto set,’ and everything. […] I was in the production office and my family hadn’t arrived yet, and I was trying to do loads of things to do with really boring stuff about getting set up in America, which was really frustrating me, but I needed to use an office, and it was a production office. The only office they could give me was Frakes’ director’s suite, and I basically sat down, and took a selfie of myself saying, ‘This is my place now, mate. Basically, I’m running the show. You’re no longer the director.'”

While Speleers was working on getting set up in the States and having a bit of fun in the bosses’ office, someone from the accounts department came in looking for Frakes, and Speleers had a bit more fun, telling the poor employee that Frakes had been fired and he was now in charge. The worker bought it and Speleers had to tell them that it was only a joke. After all, who would fire Jonathan Frakes?