Legendary Star Trek actor Sir Patrick Stewart has died aged 86
His co-stars have led tributes, with William Shatner saying that Stewart "stood for the best of us"
While X-Men actor Hugh Jackman says "we lost one of the greats of stage and screen"
Stewart died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, according to a statement shared on his social media
The award-winning star of stage and screen had a career spanning decades - from the Royal Shakespeare Company, to the X-Men franchise
His appeal crossed generations, and younger fans will have discovered his work on streaming platforms, writes our culture correspondent
Sir Patrick's death comes in the same week as another Star Trek actor passed away.Walter Koenig, who played the spirited Russian crewman Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek TV series, died aged 90.
The pair worked together on the 1994 film, Star Trek Generations.
Image source, CBS via Getty Images.The son of a textile worker mother and a father who was a regimental sergeant major in the British army, Patrick Stewart began his career performing in amateur dramatics in his home town of Mirfield, as well as alongside Brian Blessed in Calder Valley summer theatre workshops.
His talent as a teenager was clear, according to a local newspaper account - on display at the exhibition - of his last performance before he left for Bristol in 1957 when he was 17.
"As has now come to be expected, he played his part with considerable ease and was clearly audible," wrote the Mirfield Reporter's theatre critic in a lukewarm review of the local drama club's production of Ronald Jeans' comedy Young Wives' Tale.
Despite the initial rejections after leaving theatre school, work was soon flowing Sir Patrick's way.
He landed his first professional role playing Tom Morgan in Treasure Island at Lincoln's Theatre Royal in 1959 before working at the Sheffield Playhouse for 18 months.
Noor Nanji
Culture correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesSir Patrick Stewart appeared in Waiting For Godot alongside Ian McKellen in 2009.
Sir Patrick Stewart had a long and hugely successful career.
It was at school where his love of drama developed, when one of his teachers introduced him to Shakespeare and encouraged him to perform.
His first public performance was in a local church production of Cinderella. Speaking many years later to the Guardian, he said that he realised early that on stage, he could "escape".
"And my dream became more of a dream. Not just of having a different life. But, for the few minutes I had on stage, actually living it.”
Image source, Getty ImagesStewart famously depicted Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek television series between 1987 and 1994
Image source, Getty ImagesPatrick Stewart, alongside Sir Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin and Hugh Jackman at the X-Men premiere in 2000
Image source, Getty ImagesHe starred as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films together with Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen
Image source, Getty ImagesStewart and McKellen developed a close friendship over the years working together on the X-Men franchise, and in their staging of Waiting for Godot
Emma Saunders
Culture reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesGeorge Takei, who played Mr Sulu in Star Trek, has also paid tribute to his former co-star.
"Fans across the world mourn the passing of a true and irreplaceable legend," he writes on Instagram.
"As Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart took the starship Enterprise to places it had never gone before, and he inspired a whole next generation of star-gazers who looked longingly ahead to a brighter future for all humanity."
"Our hearts are heavy, indeed. Rest in the heavens, Captain."
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesPatrick Stewart and his wife Sunny Ozell
The veteran actor is survived by his wife Sunny Ozell, who was with him when he passed away at home according to a statement sent to the BBC by his spokesperson.
He is also survived by two adult children from his first marriage: Daniel Stewart and Sophie Stewart.
Image source, Getty ImagesDaniel Stewart and Patrick Stewart in 2015
Speaking in 2011, Patrick Stewart recalls when he was told he would "never be a leading man" and how he broke through into acting in the first place.
You can watch that moment here.
Image source, Getty ImagesHugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, pictured at a press event in March 2017
Hugh Jackman has paid tribute to his former X-Men co-star, describing Sir Patrick Stewart as a "tremendous friend and man".
The actor says in a post on Instagram: "We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today."
"I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days," he adds.
Image source, Getty ImagesWilliam Shatner, who portrayed Captain Kirk on Star Trek, remembers his former co-star as "a magnificent colleague".
"What a heartbreaking week it has been. Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor," he says.
"From 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."
Noor Nanji
Culture correspondent
Sir Patrick Stewart's appeal crossed generations, thanks to his roles in multi-generational franchises.
Younger sci-fi and comic book fans will have discovered his work on streaming platforms.
In 2019, he starred as a modern-day Merlin, bringing the famous tale to new audiences.
And one of the things he'll be remembered for is his encouragement for young artists, urging them to "be brave" and trust others.
"If I had done that earlier in my life, maybe everything would have changed," he told Esquire a few years ago.
Image source, Getty ImagesStewart poses with an artwork of his character in the X-Men series, Professor X
Emma Saunders
Culture reporter
BBC Radio 6 and Desert Island Discs presenter Lauren Laverne, who interviewed the Star Trek star years ago, writes simply on Instagram:
"What a life. I was lucky enough to interview him and will never forget it. Thinking of his family and friends today."
Emma Saunders
Culture reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesStewart starred as the telepathic Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film franchise
As we just mentioned, the veteran star won a new legion of fans with his portrayal of Professor Charles Xavier in blockbuster films such as X-Men and Avengers: Doomsday.
Marvel posted on X shortly after the news of Sir Patrick's death was confirmed.
"All of us at Marvel Studios are deeply saddened by the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart. Sir Patrick brought Professor Charles Xavier to life with extraordinary grace, intelligence, and humanity, defining the character for generations of fans, from X-Men to Logan to Avengers: Doomsday.
"He was a singular talent, a generous collaborator, and a true gentleman. Our hearts go out to his wife Sunny, his children, his friends, and the countless fans around the world whose lives he touched with his art."
Image source, Getty ImagesPatrick Stewart's career included a number of starring roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, alongside appearances on the big screen in films such as X-Men, and his famous depiction of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek.
He played the space captain in over 170 episodes of the sci-fi television series between 1987 and 1994, and in four feature films before returning in Star Trek: Picard from 2020 to 2023.
The actor's career spans seven decades, having been born and raised in Mirfield and appearing in the town's pantomime as a boy.
He was also due to reprise his role as Professor Charles Xavier, from the X-Men films, in the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday releasing in December.
Image source, Getty ImagesPatrick Hewes Stewart was born in Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire on 13 July 1940.
His mother Gladys was a textile worker. She was active in amateur dramatics and encouraged her three sons to take part.
His father was a former Sergeant Major in the Parachute Regiment whose experience during the wartime evacuation of Dunkirk had shredded his mental health.
"My father was a very potent individual," Stewart later recalled, "it was said that when he strode on to the parade ground, birds stopped singing."
But Alfred Stewart had become a quick-tempered man, suffering from what would now be called post traumatic stress.
He was prone to drink and often took out his frustrations on his family - although Patrick himself was never the target of his fists.
Young Patrick's love of drama came at school when one of his teachers introduced him to Shakespeare and encouraged him to perform.
His first public performance was in a local church production of Cinderella.
He left school at 15 and eventually got a job as a reporter and obituary writer on the Dewsbury Reporter.
He also threw himself enthusiastically into the flourishing local theatre. "I used to recite Shakespeare from memory," he said. "I just learned all these big speeches."
Image source, Press AssociationWhile many actors are typecast, Sir Patrick Stewart moved effortlessly from Shakespeare and Dickens to the command of the USS Enterprise and his famous wheelchair in X-Men.
In a career that spanned seven decades, Sir Patrick won multiple Emmys and Golden Globes, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
One of the world's most versatile actors, he mastered both comedy and tragedy, science-fiction and historical drama - despite an entertainment industry's traditional prejudice against shiny, bald heads.
Image source, Getty ImagesPatrick Stewart in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1970 production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Patrick Stewart's death was announced in a post shared on his Instagram account:
“We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.
“He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayers, tears, laughter and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to all of us.
“We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
“A son of Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he travelled from the Royal Shakespeare Company to an equally acclaimed career spanning six decades on Broadway, the silver screen and television.
“His sonorous voice and singular talent will forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre. He explored the human condition in all its poetic complexity and brought hope not only to the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but into science fiction’s most iconic final frontier aboard the Starship Enterprise.
“His professional accomplishments were humbly matched by his philanthropy and activism on behalf of human rights, survivors of domestic violence, global refugees, veterans’ mental health services, and animal welfare, particularly his cherished foster pitties. He was a Knight, Chancellor, motor sport enthusiast, and lifelong Huddersfield Football fan. He will be remembered for the dignity, compassion and humanity he brought to every role – in his art and life."
The statement finishes with a quote from his memoir: “Like me, Jean-Luc has lived an unusual life that has taken him far beyond the bounds of normal human experience. But he is also someone who has remained true to his earthbound roots, for they are what gave him his identity. In the end, he feels the call of home, as do I.”
Image source, Getty ImagesSir Patrick Stewart died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday after suffering with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia, the actor's Instagram account announced on Thursday.
He was said to be "in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny".
The post adds: "He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all.
"We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.
"A son of Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he travelled from the Royal Shakespeare Company to an equally acclaimed career spanning six decades on Broadway, the silver screen and television."
