Stewart, Patrick

▪ 2009

born July 13, 1940, Mirfield, West Yorkshire, Eng.

 In 2008 British actor Patrick Stewart's masterful performance of the title role in Shakespeare's Macbeth brought unexpected freshness to the play. The production, which started in London and later moved to Broadway, was set in a claustrophobic Stalinist U.S.S.R., which seemed well suited to the play's atmosphere of paranoiac treachery. Stewart won raves—and a Tony Award nomination—for his rich realization of the central character.

      Stewart was the son of a military man, but while his brothers completed military service of their own, he began acting onstage at the age of 12. He performed in playhouses around England before making his London theatrical debut in 1966; he joined the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Theatre the next year and made his first Broadway appearance in 1971, as Snout in another Shakespeare classic, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

      Despite taking small roles in American and British films and on television from 1973 on, Stewart remained primarily a stage actor for the first quarter century of his career. Then, in 1987, he first appeared in the part that made him a familiar face for audiences around the world: Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in the science-fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). Following veteran Star Trek actor William Shatner into the captaincy of the starship Enterprise, arguably the most famous spaceship in popular culture, Stewart's Picard quickly stepped out of the long shadow of Shatner's Captain Kirk. Although it was a surprising choice for someone considered to be a “serious” actor, the role brought Stewart an unprecedented level of fame. His cultured voice and natural gravitas lent great credence to the role and made him the urbane and deeply moral centre of TNG. The show ran for seven seasons and spawned four feature films between 1994 and 2002.

      In 2000 Stewart brought his powerful presence to the American blockbuster film X-Men, playing paraplegic genius Professor Xavier. The professor—like Picard, a peace-loving and intelligent man—similarly helped to ground a fantastical franchise, and Stewart reprised the role in two successful sequels (2003 and 2006).

      In the 1990s he began taking on a greater role behind the scenes, serving as both the star and the executive producer of the made-for-TV movies The Canterville Ghost (1996), A Christmas Carol (1999), King of Texas (2002), and The Lion in Winter (2003). Often, Stewart used his majestic tones and perfect British diction to comedic effect in animated shows, and in 2006 his hilarious guest turn on the HBO comedy series Extras earned him an Emmy nomination.

      Despite these successes on-screen, Stewart never gave up the stage, and he never stopped performing Shakespeare. In the 1990s he played Prospero in The Tempest and the title role in an innovative take on Othello. In the wake of great praise for his 2008 Macbeth, the actor tackled the role of Claudius in a new production of Hamlet.

Melissa Albert

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