Patrick Stewart dies: Captain Picard and theater veteran

dpa | In his old age, Sir Patrick Stewart returned to the command bridge of a spaceship. 18 years after his last appearance as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the movie “Star Trek: Nemesis,” the British actor was back in the role of his life. In his late 70s, he once again played the sincere, reliable and sometimes somewhat stiff cult captain in the TV series “Star Trek: Picard”. He had actually long since finished with Picard. Stewart has now died at the age of 86, as his spokeswoman Kelly Bush Novak announced.

The TV series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” made the down-to-earth actor, whose career began in the theater, world famous in the mid-80s. Stewart, who was born on July 13, 1940 in the English village of Mirfield in West Yorkshire, almost turned down the role. The Brit was so skeptical about the success of the series that he initially lived out of a suitcase in Los Angeles.

The fact that he got the role at all was thanks to a coincidence: Stewart helped a professor friend of his in the USA with a public lecture by reading passages from Shakespeare. In the audience that day was one of the “Star Trek” co-producers, Robert Justman – who then immediately informed “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry that he had found a captain. When the Brit auditioned for the role, he also convinced Roddenberry with his presence, deep voice and manner of expression.

“I wasn’t interested in science fiction at all,” Stewart once told the Los Angeles Times. “What I found interesting was that it took place on camera and in California.” It also elevated him to a new pay grade. "I couldn't believe what my salary per episode was going to be - unimaginable. I couldn't imagine it, and to be honest, it was never something I aspired to do. I just loved the work of acting in works by Shakespeare and other great playwrights."

When the “USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D” first flew across television screens in September 1987, the then 47-year-old was unknown to most viewers in the USA. To date he has only had two appearances in well-known films on his resume - he played supporting characters in John Boorman's fantasy film "Excalibur" (1981) and in David Lynch's science fiction epic "Dune" (1984). He also played a firefighter in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street, which continues to this day.

At that time, his main job was on the theater stage. From 1966 to 1982 he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His teacher sparked his love for theater when Stewart was eleven or twelve years old. “Without this man, none of this would have happened,” Sir Patrick said gratefully when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010. “He handed me a copy of Shakespeare and said, ‘Now stand and recite it.’”

Even after his time in the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stewart appeared in the theater - among other things, he took on all the roles in a solo performance of Charles Dickens' Christmas story ("A Christmas Carol"). In London's West End he shone on stage with his close friend Sir Ian McKellen in Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land".

However, Picard's popularity had a downside: Stewart was committed to the role on screen. Other offers were rare. Until he played Professor Charles Xavier in the 2000 Marvel comic book adaptation “X-Men” – a person of integrity with a similarity to Picard. After three sequels and three follow-up “Wolverine” films, he said goodbye to Professor X in 2017.

The Picard chapter, however, was not yet over, even though Stewart had stated for years that he had no interest in reviving the character. Nevertheless, after initial hesitation, he agreed to a comeback because he liked the modern approach of “Star Trek: Picard”. The world of the old TV show was “too perfect and too protected,” said Stewart in the “Variety” interview. “It was an ideal world full of respect, communication and care – and sometimes fun.” In contrast, “Star Trek: Picard” became more grim and pessimistic, which not all fans liked. For Stewart, however, it made perfect sense. “That was my response to the world of Brexit and Trump,” he said.

In his private life, Sir Patrick lived in his third marriage in the New York borough of Brooklyn with the musician Sunny Ozell, who was 38 years his junior. His close friend and "X-Men" co-star Ian McKellen was best man in 2013. Sir Ian once said of his long-time friend and colleague: "He looks reliable. He's the kind of guy you want around in a tough situation. Captain Picard is here, so don't worry."