Few actors have given us as many unforgettable characters as Sir Patrick Stewart. As fans remember him, here’s a look back at the roles that made him a legend.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
To a generation of viewers, he will always be Captain Picard. He led the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987 to 1994 with calm authority and turned “Make it so” and “Engage” into some of TV’s most famous lines. He returned to the role in four feature films and later in the series Star Trek: Picard.
Professor Charles Xavier
Years later, he became Professor X in the X-Men films, bringing warmth and dignity to the mentor every mutant looked up to. His final turn as an aging, fragile Xavier in Logan (2017) is considered one of the best performances in any superhero movie.
Far Beyond Science Fiction
His range went well beyond space and superheroes. He played Gurney Halleck in David Lynch’s Dune and stole scenes as King Richard in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
He charmed audiences as the flamboyant Sterling in Jeffrey, and leaned into comedy as cable news host Walter Blunt in Blunt Talk. He also had a famous comic turn playing a heightened version of himself in Ricky Gervais’ Extras.
In the thriller Green Room, he showed a quieter, far more chilling side as the villain Darcy Banker, proving he could be just as convincing as a menace as he was as a hero.
A Stage Actor at Heart
Through it all, Stewart never left the theater behind. A Royal Shakespeare Company veteran, he returned to Shakespeare again and again, from Macbeth to The Tempest.
From the stage to the farthest reaches of space, he brought the same grace and power to every role. Thank you for everything, Sir Patrick.