LOS ANGELES (CNS) \u2014Sir Patrick Stewart, the classically trained British actor best known as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in \u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u2019\u2019 and Professor Charles Xavier in the \u201cX-Men\u2019\u2019 films, died at his Los Angeles home at age 86, his representative announced today.<\/p>\n
Stewart died Wednesday following what longtime spokeswoman Kelly Bush Novak described as a \u201cbrief and poignant journey\u2019\u2019 with Alzheimer\u2019s disease and Lewy body dementia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter,\u2019\u2019 Bush Novak said.<\/p>\n
She said Stewart was cared for by his wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, and was surrounded by family and friends.<\/p>\n
William Shatner was among those paying tribute to Stewart.<\/p>\n
\u201cSir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor,\u2019\u2019 Shatner wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom 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.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu in the original series, wrote about Stewart on Bluesky.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe inspired a whole next generation of star-gazers who looked longingly ahead to a brighter future for all humanity,\u2019\u2019 Takei wrote. \u201cOur hearts are heavy, indeed. Rest in the heavens, Captain.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige also issued a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was brilliant, charming, warm, generous, with a quiet strength and gravitas,\u2019\u2019 Feige said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAway from the cameras, he was even more remarkable, with a wonderfully sharp sense of humor. It was a true privilege to know him and to work with him,\u2019\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n
Hugh Jackman, who starred as Wolverine in several \u201cX-Men\u2019\u2019 films, also paid tribute to Stewart on Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost one of the greats of stage and screen today,\u2019\u2019 Jackman wrote. \u201cAnd, in my book, a tremendous friend and man. I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Although Stewart became internationally known through science-fiction and superhero roles, he spent much of his career on the stage and was one of Britain\u2019s most accomplished Shakespearean actors.<\/p>\n
Stewart was an established stage performer but largely unknown to American audiences when he was cast as Picard, commander of the USS Enterprise, in \u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation.\u2019\u2019 The syndicated series ran for seven seasons from 1987 to 1994.<\/p>\n
Producer Robert Justman first noticed Stewart while the actor was reading Shakespeare during a lecture at UCLA. \u201cStar Trek\u2019\u2019 creator Gene Roddenberry initially resisted casting him, but Stewart eventually won the role.<\/p>\n
Stewart later said he accepted a six-year contract after being assured the series probably would not survive its first season.<\/p>\n
He reprised Picard in four films: \u201cStar Trek Generations\u2019\u2019 in 1994,<\/p>\n
\u201cStar Trek: First Contact\u2019\u2019 in 1996, “Star Trek: Insurrection\u2019\u2019 in 1998 and \u201cStar Trek: Nemesis\u2019\u2019 in 2002.<\/p>\n
Stewart returned to the role in the Paramount+ series \u201cStar Trek: Picard,\u2019\u2019 which ran for three seasons from 2020 to 2023.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the values behind \u201cStar Trek\u2019\u2019 during a 2023 interview with NPR, Stewart said the series was about \u201ctruth and fairness and honesty and respect for others, no matter who they were.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
He first played telepathic mutant leader Charles Xavier in the 2000 film \u201cX-Men.\u2019\u2019 He returned to the role in several sequels, including \u201cX2: X- Men United,\u2019\u2019 \u201cX-Men: Days of Future Past\u2019\u2019 and\u201d \u201cLogan.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Stewart frequently appeared opposite his longtime friend Ian McKellen, who played Xavier\u2019s rival Magneto. The two also performed together on stage in productions of \u201cWaiting for Godot\u2019\u2019 and \u201cNo Man\u2019s Land.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
His other film credits included “Excalibur,\u2019\u2019 \u201cDune,\u2019\u2019 \u201cConspiracy Theory\u2019\u2019 and \u201cGreen Room.\u2019\u2019 He portrayed Capt. Ahab in the 1998 television miniseries \u201cMoby Dick\u2019\u2019 and King Henry II in a 2003 adaptation of \u201cThe Lion in Winter.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Stewart also starred as British television host Walter Blunt in the Starz comedy \u201cBlunt Talk\u2019\u2019 and provided the voice of CIA official Avery Bullock on the animated comedy \u201cAmerican Dad!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Patrick Stewart was born July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England, the youngest of three sons.<\/p>\n
His father, Alfred, was a British Army veteran who Stewart said became violent toward his mother after returning from World War II. Stewart later became an advocate for survivors of domestic abuse and veterans affected by post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Stewart left school at 15 and briefly worked as a reporter for the Dewsbury Reporter. He quit after an editor told him to choose between journalism and acting.<\/p>\n
\u00a0He later received a scholarship to attend the Bristol Old Vic TheatreSchool and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES (CNS) \u2014Sir Patrick Stewart, the classically trained British actor best known as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[197814,197816,185208,197812,48,52,51,47,50,49,64660,197811,197815,45192,197813],"class_list":["post-514114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-gene-roddenberry","tag-george-takei","tag-hugh-jackman","tag-jean-luc-picard","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-patrick-stewart","tag-professor-x","tag-space-westerns","tag-star-trek","tag-star-trek-the-original-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}