Biography - Patrick Stewart

Classically trained actor Patrick Stewart is best known for his seven years on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, in which he portrayed the steely Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Twenty years later, Stewart is a major movie star in the U.S., and is currently on screen in “X-Men: The Last Stand” playing the mutant leader Professor Xavier for the third time. According to him though, the theatre will always be his home.

Born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England on July 13, 1940, Stewart began acting at a young age with local theatre groups, and was encouraged by a teacher in secondary school to pursue drama as a career. He dropped out at 15, increasing his involvement in local theatre and earning a living with jobs as a newspaper reporter and later as a furniture salesman. When Stewart was only 17 he started course work at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre, and soon found success performing at the Manchester Library Theatre. In 1966 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, which at the time also housed powerful actors like Ian Richardson, Ben Kingsley, and future “X-Men” co-star Ian McKellen. The famously bald actor (he’s been without hair since the age of 19) spent nearly 15 years at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in the early 80s moved to the Royal National Theatre.

Though he never earned household recognition until “Star Trek”, Stewart starred in a smattering of television productions during his time as one of the most respected classical actors in England. These included the 1975 TV film of “North and South”, a 1976 “I, Claudius” mini-series, and the BBC’s 1980 “Hamlet” film, in which he portrayed Claudius. One major film role during this period is well known to Stewart fans, the role of Gurney in David Lynch’s troubled 1984 adaptation of “Dune”. Most of Stewart’s part was cut for the theatrical release due to the film’s interminable length, but has reappeared on television and on Director’s Cut video releases of the cult classic.

“Star Trek: The Next Generation” started airing in 1987, making Stewart an international star and proving that the popular franchise was alive and well. He was even voted ‘Sexiest Man on Television’ by TV Guide in 1992, a distinction the actor found puzzling due to his age and baldness. But regardless of his sex appeal, “Star Trek” was a terrific vehicle for Stewart, as he used his formidable classical acting abilities and applied them to the comparably frivolous sci-fi role of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. The mix was irresistible, and Stewart gifted the series a pop gravitas that elevated it above the original series, not to mention pretty much everything else on television at the time.

Since “Star Trek” ended in 1994, Stewart has worked prolifically in Hollywood, starring most notably in three “X-Men” films, the Mel Gibson thriller “Conspiracy Theory”, and two terrific TV films, “Moby Dick” in 1998 and “Lion in Winter” in 2003. Both earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. In addition to starring in four “Star Trek” films, including the terrific “First Contact”, Stewart has done tremendous voice work for a string of video games and animated films such as “The Prince of Egypt”, “Steamboy”, “Chicken Little”, and a smattering of “Star Trek” and “X-Men” video games. Stewart is also known for terrific narrations of novels such as C.S. Lewis’s “The Last Battle”, and in recent years has received heaps of acclaim for his one-man stage version of “A Christmas Carol”.