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Gates McFadden has been to her fair share of conventions. It’s been nearly 40 years since she was first cast as Dr. Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the enthusiasm from fans is still stronger than ever. However, McFadden says that there was a learning curve with her early convention experiences.

“In the beginning I was actually really scared of fans and conventions,” Gates McFadden revealed during a Star Trek: The Next Generation panel at MegaCon 2026. “I didn’t know what was expected of me. And also in the beginning, the fans were not as complementary as they are now. They wanted it to be the original show. But I’ve learned so much about the show and the franchise, let alone how much importance it has been in individuals’ lives.”

McFadden went on to say that her encounters with fans at conventions are always uplifting: “I get very inspired by the things people have done. I don’t care if you work at Walmart. It gives you hope and we have seen each other. I don’t ever feel that these encounters, especially when people get emotional because it reminds them of a parent who has passed away or something, I feel it’s meant to be and you should always just express that emotion of seeing someone you’ve watched their face on screen.”

McFadden continued, saying that fans shouldn’t be embarrassed about getting emotional because there is beauty in the authenticity of their feelings. “It’s what you projected on to you us that is so beautiful. So, you guys should own that and never hold back if it makes you kind of emotional.”

Space may be the final frontier, but there's no end to Popverse's love of the Star Trek universe. Hop aboard the starship Enterprise with our Star Trek watch order, explore strange new worlds with our upcoming Star Trek TV shows and movies list, seek out the new life of the franchise, and boldly go where no Star Trek film has ever gone before - with Quentin Tarantino?