Sir Patrick Stewart dies at 86 in Los Angeles

Sir Patrick Stewart died Wednesday at 86 years old.

Social media posts on his Facebook and Instagram accounts confirmed the news. The posts stated that he died at his home in Los Angeles following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.

Stewart gained global recognition for two distinct franchises. He played Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series, beginning in 2000. He also portrayed Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of the USS Enterprise, on Star Trek: The Next Generation. That series aired for seven seasons from 1987 to 1994. He reprised the role in the Paramount+ series Picard, which began streaming in 2020.

Before his television fame, Stewart built a career in theater. He was born in Yorkshire, England, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. He made his Broadway debut in 1970 in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In a 2023 interview with NPR, he described finding solace in school and Shakespeare after a harsh upbringing. He remembered his father as alcoholic and abusive. "To stand in the middle of an empty stage in an empty theater and feel that I was at home was everything," he told NPR. "But it took a while for me to get there."

Stewart was lecturing on Shakespeare at UCLA when producers offered him the lead role in a new Star Trek series. His colleague Ian McKellen advised against the move. "Don't do this, Patrick," McKellen told him. "You're a very good stage actor. That's where you ought to be. Don't do it."

Stewart's agent suggested the show was unlikely to last more than one season. Stewart recalled being told to treat it as a quick job to earn money and gain recognition. "'Do six months' work. Make some money for the first time in your life and get well known. Get a suntan, and go home.' And I thought, 'Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad. I could live with that,'" he said.

The show became a hit, and fans embraced the character's leadership and love of Earl Grey tea. Stewart noted that his success on the starship limited his opportunities to play leading roles in Shakespeare's plays. He shifted his focus to other stage work, including an award-winning one-man version of A Christmas Carol where he played more than 40 roles. He also lent his voice to numerous animated films.

Writer Michael Chabon helped revive the Picard character for the 2020 series. Chabon told NPR that he was thrilled to write words for Stewart to speak. Stewart is scheduled to appear in the role one last time in the upcoming movie Avengers: Doomsday.