Sir Patrick Stewart began his lifelong love of drama at a young age when a teacher introduced him to Shakespeare – and he never turned his back on theatre despite Hollywood success
Legend of the stage and screen Sir Patrick Stewart has died aged 86.
Sir Patrick died on Wednesday in Los Angeles after “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia, his spokesperson said.
Born on July 13, 1940 to a working class family in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, Sir Patrick Stewart found an escape from his tough upbringing through acting, being first introduced to Shakespeare by his English teacher.
His father, Alfred, was a decorated regimental sergeant major in the British Army who returned from the war suffering from PTSD.
In his memoir, “Making It So,” Stewart wrote about how he and his older brother Trevor braced for the nights when their dad came home drunk and angry, and attacked their mother.
“Sometimes it was with an open hand, other times a closed fist. Always he aimed for her head. The stage would prove to be a safe space, a refuge from real life in which I could inhabit another person, living in another place and time.”
He would later become a patron for Refuge, an organisation that provides shelter for domestic abuse victims.
Sir Patrick joined an amateur drama group at 12 and memorised Shakespeare as a teen.
He left school at 15 after skipping his 11-plus exams, and won a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, launching a career as a character actor.
Sir Patrick Stewart went bald at 19, as alopecia runs in his family.
He made his London theatrical debut in 1966, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company the following year.
Over the next 14 years, he gave memorable performances in roles across a thespian catalogue ranging from King John to Shylock, and played Enobarbus in Antony and Cleopatra.
One of his earliest TV appearances came in 1967 as a fireman in Coronation Street.
In 1987, he was introduced to an international audience when he was cast as the captain of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
He played Jean-Luc Picard for seven series and four feature films, returning to the role in the sequel series Star Trek: Picard.
His classical training prepared him for his role as the sci-fi captain, as he wrote in his memoir: “There is a formality to the way they speak and comport themselves that remind me of numerous Shakespearean situations I’d been in onstage.
“I should play Jean Luc, I realised, as if he were a character in `Henry IV,’ which is about brave men.”
In 2000, Sir Patrick took on the role as leader Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men series, playing the character until he left the series with 2017’s Logan.
He also made appearances on US animation sitcoms Futurama and The Simpsons, including an episode where he told Homer Simpson it was ‘OK to be bald’.
But despite his Hollywood successes, Sir Patrick never gave up his love of theatre, mounting a one-man adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and starring in West End and Broadway productions of Macbeth.
On Broadway, he starred in The Tempest, The Caretaker and David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre.
In later years, he was often seen treading the boards with close friend Sir Ian McKellen, starring together in revivals of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
Ian McKellen officiated when he tied the knot with Brooklyn songwriter and singer Sunny Ozell in 2013.
Off-screen, Sir Patrick was an avid Huddersfield Town fan who served as president of the club’s academy, and was in the stands at Wembley Stadium to celebrate their promotion to the Premier League in 2017.
He gave to a host of charities supporting veterans and victims of domestic abuse, including Refuge and Combat Stress.
Sir Patrick Stewart was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for his services to drama.
William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek, said in a tribute: “Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor”.
“From the stage to the bridge of the Enterprise, he brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did.
“Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him. I was filled with affection and admiration for him and his work.
“My heart goes out to Sunny and his family. He will be deeply missed.”
His longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak added: “He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all.
“We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
He is survived by his wife and his two children, Sophia and Daniel, both from his first marriage to actress Sheila Falconer.
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