Patrick Stewart Has Died

Patrick Stewart, the celebrated British stage actor who became an international star as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, died at 86 at his Los Angeles home. His death was attributed to Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Before his late-career leap into science fiction, Stewart had spent decades building a reputation in Shakespeare and other theater, including major work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and award-winning performances in Antony and Cleopatra and Hamlet. His commanding voice and composed presence made Picard memorable, and Stewart later reprised the role in four films and the series Star Trek: Picard. He also played Professor Charles Xavier in five X-Men films and appeared in Dune.

Stewart’s rise grew out of a difficult childhood in West Yorkshire, marked by poverty and his father’s violence against his mother. An English teacher introduced him to acting when he was 12; after leaving school, he trained at Bristol Old Vic and began performing professionally in 1959. He worked steadily in British theater and television, including roles in I, Claudius and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, while taking on Shakespeare and modern drama on Broadway and in London. Though some theater peers regarded his move to Hollywood as a retreat from serious acting, Stewart embraced Picard as an admirable character and took pride in the role’s lasting impact. His career also showed a playful side, from Mel Brooks’s Robin Hood: Men in Tights to animated comedy and appearances on The Simpsons and Sesame Street.