Sir Patrick Stewart, the British acting legend best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, has died at 86. An official statement posted to his social media accounts announced on Thursday that he passed away at his home in Los Angeles on October 28, following “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.”
Patrick Stewart (Credits: Anime News Network)
His spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, confirmed the news to the Associated Press, saying he died in the care of his wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, surrounded by family and friends.
From the Royal Shakespeare Company to the USS Enterprise
Stewart was born on July 13, 1940, in Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and made his Broadway debut in 1971, building a respected stage career long before he became a screen icon. International stardom arrived in 1987 when he was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran for seven seasons through 1994. He reprised the role in four feature films and later returned for the streaming series Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023), making the character the defining screen role of his life.
Professor X and a Knighted Career
A second franchise-defining role followed in 2000 when Stewart played Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men. He returned to the character across multiple films, including Logan, and appeared as a multiverse variant of Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He will appear one final time as the mutant leader in Avengers: Doomsday, set to premiere on December 18.
Beyond the franchises, Stewart’s credits spanned theatre, television, film and video games, including voice work in the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow games. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for services to drama. He is survived by his wife Sunny and his children, Sophia and Daniel.
Also Read: William Shatner Leads Star Trek Tributes to Patrick Stewart | Walter Koenig, Chekov on Original ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 90
Source: Anime News Network — read the full story there.
