Sir Patrick Stewart, Star Trek's Captain Picard and X-Men's Professor X, dies at 86

British actor Sir Patrick Stewart — Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men — died on Tuesday, 28 October, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 86. His family announced the death, which was reported by Variety, NPR, Playbill, Deadline and others.

According to the family, Stewart's final months were spent with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia, a journey they called "brief and poignant".

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From the Shakespearean stage to the captain's chair

Patrick Stewart was born on 13 July 1940 in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1982, appearing in more than sixty productions. It was the theatre, not film, that made him a master of language and gave him that unmistakable voice.

Picard and Professor X

Worldwide fame came with Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994). He returned to the role in four feature films (1994–2002) and then in Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023).

For a new generation he became Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the school for mutants, in the X-Men film series (2000–2017). He reprised the role in 2022 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

A knight of the British stage

Stewart was knighted in 2010 for services to drama. His deep, impeccably trained voice also featured in animation, including American Dad!. He is survived by his wife, the singer Sunny Ozell, and his two children, Daniel and Sophia.