Patrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’ Legend and Beloved Shakespearean Actor, Dead at 86

The English actor cut his teeth in the Royal Shakespeare Company before playing several of the most memorable sci-fi characters in Hollywood history.

Sir Patrick Stewart, the beloved stage and screen star known for his role as Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” has died at the age of 86 years old. News of his death was first reported by The New York Times.

A fixture of the stage and screen for the past six decades, Stewart was equally active in the realms of classical drama and contemporary genre entertainment. Born in Mirfield, England in 1940, Stewart attended the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and began acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. He remained a member through 1982, playing many of the Bard’s most iconic roles and becoming a fixture of British television. It would have already been enough to call his acting career a successful one, but Hollywood stardom came calling for him in the late ’80s.

In 1987, Stewart took on the career-defining role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” As the second major captain of the USS Enterprise, he became the face of “Star Trek” and remained synonymous with the franchise throughout his life. He played the role for seven seasons of “The Next Generation” and went on to reprise it in four films. He notably reprised the role in the final years of his life in “Star Trek: Picard,” a three-season series that caught up with an older version of the character and allowed Stewart to deconstruct his most iconic role.

Stewart’s most notable film role arguably came in the “X-Men” franchise, in which he played Professor Charles Xavier. He first took on the role of the mutant superhero team leader in Bryan Singer’s 2000 film “X-Men.” He would continue to play the character for the remainder of his life, appearing in seven films for 20th Century Fox and then bringing the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Disney acquired the IP. Multiverse timelines have allowed him to keep returning even after the character’s ( numerous deaths onscreen; he will next be seen in “Avengers: Doomsday” in December.

Stewart’s film and TV success did not deter his stage work, as he continued to lead a variety of Shakespeare and contemporary productions on the New York and London stages for the remainder of his life. He was also an in-demand voice actor, lending his signature baritone to 122 episodes of “American Dad” as well as countless other animated films, shows, and video games.

Throughout his career, Stewart won two Olivier Awards and a Grammy, and received three Primetime Emmy nominations and one Tony Award nomination. He is survived by his wife Sunny Ozell and his two children.