Oh captain, our captain: Ars staff remembers Patrick Stewart

Along with the rest of the world, we at Ars are mourning Sir Patrick Stewart—the beloved award-winning actor best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men franchise—who died Wednesday at the age of 86.

A statement released by Stewart’s representatives said:

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, 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.

Through the actor’s X account, the family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources.

Born in Yorkshire, England, in 1940, the acting bug bit Stewart at the age of 12, when his English teacher handed out scripts for Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and asked young Patrick to read the part of Shylock—a role the adult Stewart would later play for the Royal Shakespeare Theater (RSC), among many other parts. His signature bald head emerged early, around 19, thanks to alopecia. He briefly worked as a cub reporter and a furniture salesman before winning a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theater School, and he landed his first professional role in 1959, playing a marooned pirate in a production of Treasure Island for the Lincoln Repertory Company.

Stewart worked regularly in theater and on British television, and his big break came in his late 40s. The actor was conducting master classes on Shakespeare at the University of California, Los Angeles, when a TV producer developing TNG heard him lecture and thought he would make a perfect captain for the Enterprise-D. Creator Gene Roddenberry wasn’t initially keen on the choice, but Stewart’s audition changed his mind. The rest is television history.

On Instagram, fellow thespian Sir Ian McKellen—who first met Stewart when both were young actors with the RSC and co-starred as Magneto in the X-Men films—recalled the day Stewart told him about the Star Trek offer.

“’But Patrick, think of your stage career in the UK,'” McKellen recalled saying. “‘Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?’ Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did.”

Stewart himself never expressed anything but pride in the role. “For huge numbers of people, I will always be Jean-Luc Picard, and that’s fine,” he told The Independent in 2003. “I really believe we created an admirable individual.”

TNG ended in 1994, but it wasn’t long before Stewart created another iconic role, starring as Professor Charles Xavier in 2000’s X-Men, alongside McKellen as Magneto. He reprised the role in six more films and voiced the character in multiple video games.

He was a serious actor who never took himself too seriously, relishing Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Beckett but also throwing himself into comedic TV appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show (he was a “special correspondent” for several segments in 2012), and Sesame Street. Who could forget his timeless “Soliloquy on B,” channeling Hamlet? Or his daily readings of Shakespearean sonnets that helped us all get through the COVID-19 pandemic? He voiced Napoleon in 1999’s Animal Farm, CIA Deputy Director Avery Bullock on American Dad and, earlier this year, Sir Nitchfield in the delightful Sheep Detectives.

In between acting gigs, Stewart found time for charity work, advocating for such causes as domestic violence prevention and PTSD awareness among members of the armed forces, drawing on his own childhood being raised by an abusive father. All of this made Stewart one of the most beloved actors of our time. Tributes to Stewart are all over social media today, as celebrities and regular folk alike reflect on everything the actor’s work has meant to them over the years, including these heartfelt words from his lifelong friend McKellen:

Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.

Ars staffers share their own reminiscences about Stewart and what he meant to them below.

Ken Fisher, founder and editor-in-chief:

I had the good fortune to literally bump into Sir Patrick Stewart outside Bond 45 in Midtown Manhattan (when it was on 45th Street). I was coming out of the restaurant with a couple of colleagues one evening when I turned right into him. When my eyes met his, I entered a state of total confusion. I knew he loved and even played Broadway, but it didn’t register why he was here, right next to me.

Fortunately, I recovered—but then, for some unknown reason, I said in a pirate voice, “Scuse muh, Capt’n!” But he didn’t miss a beat, smiled, and took a posture of “after you good sir!” I immediately chuckled like a fool and then added that I loved his work both on and off the stage. He thanked me, and we kept on rolling. I am thankful to this day that I didn’t say something corny like “two to beam up.”

What struck me about the exchange was that, as brief as it was, he did not appear annoyed in the slightest. And while I know he is a world-class actor, he also seemed genuinely appreciative of the comment. I am grateful today that I got to share my appreciation with him, awkward though it was.

Stewart created yet another iconic sci-fi character as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men franchise.

20th Century Fox

Stewart created yet another iconic sci-fi character as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men franchise. 20th Century Fox

A very old and ill Charles Xavier appeared in 2017’s Logan.

20th Century Fox

A very old and ill Charles Xavier appeared in 2017’s Logan. 20th Century Fox

Stewart’s final appearance as Charles Xavier will be in Avengers: Doomsday in December.

Marvel Studios

Stewart’s final appearance as Charles Xavier will be in Avengers: Doomsday in December. Marvel Studios

A very old and ill Charles Xavier appeared in 2017’s Logan. 20th Century Fox

Stewart’s final appearance as Charles Xavier will be in Avengers: Doomsday in December. Marvel Studios

Eric Berger, senior space editor:

Warmth. Humanity. Decency. Honesty. Integrity. Intellectualism. These are but a few of the traits I associate with Captain Jean-Luc Picard. At a time when our leadership in the United States, and many other countries around the world, regularly showcases the opposite of these characteristics, is it any wonder that we dearly miss the captain of the Enterprise-D? Picard first graced our TV screens in the late 1980s, a super impressionable time for me. As a result, for a time, that is how I expected most leaders would behave. Alas, no.

I’m sure everyone has their favorite Picard scenes, but for me it came at the very end of The Next Generation; we had all gotten to know and love the bridge crew so well, and it felt so bittersweet that it all was ending. There was Jean-Luc, who had maintained his professional distance for seven years, joining his crew at the poker table. And now, not just the series is over, but so too is the era in which Patrick Stewart was alive and making the world a better place. It’s a little darker outside.

Kyle Orland, senior gaming editor:

With Patrick Stewart’s death, there will be plenty of people remembering all of the Star Trek: The Next Generation moments when he ably portrayed Captain Picard as the moral and diplomatic core of the show. And for sure, Stewart’s meaty and memorable monologues in episodes like The Drumhead, The First Duty, Darmok, Chain of Command, and more will be long remembered by sci-fi fans and studied by actors honing their craft.

But the most lasting Captain Picard moments for me are often the ones where Stewart got to let his hair down (so to speak) and show some rare emotional vulnerability in what was usually such a composed and professional character.

I’ll remember watching Picard wrestling with and crying to his brother after the trauma of being overtaken by the Borg, or chasing a dream-world grandson around on his hands and knees. I’ll remember the pain in Stewart’s eyes after a psychic implant revealed his true feelings for Dr. Crusher or when he was forced to struggle with the weight of sending a new romantic interest and subordinate on a dangerous mission. I’ll remember countless small moments like Picard downing a shot of Aldebaran whiskey with a time-shifted Scottie, being duly chagrined by a Captain Picard Day banner during a video call with an admiral, or pretending to be the barber while thwarting smugglers on an otherwise empty ship.

It’s these smaller emotional character moments—and Stewart’s ability to make so much of them—that added depth and roundness to Captain Picard’s character over the years. And that continued all the way up to Next Generation‘s very final moments, where Stewart captures the wistfulness and regret of Picard finally deciding to join the senior staff poker game. “Five card stud, nothing wild… and the sky’s the limit.”

Jeremy Hsu, technology reporter:

As a very casual Star Trek viewer, I only really began to grasp the depth of Patrick Stewart’s acting when I became enthralled by the silver screen chemistry between him and co-star Ian McKellen in the X-Men film franchise. The love-hate relationship and emotional vulnerability that Stewart and McKellen instilled in their roles as old-friends-turned-rivals has resonated with me throughout the years, and I still have deep appreciation for how the actors’ real-life friendship grew from that acting experience.

I also count myself extremely fortunate to have seen Stewart and McKellen perform together in a Broadway stage revival of the play Waiting for Godot in 2014. I’m sad they won’t be performing together again, but whenever they had the opportunity, they shone brightly indeed.

Jacob May, copy editor:

Hope and altruism are central themes in Stewart’s iconic roles, and they resonated most with me during one of my lowest moments.

Ever the one to inspire, Stewart’s role as Professor X in many X-Men films encouraged people and mutants to see the best in themselves and in each other. In 2014’s Days of Future Past, his pep talk extended to new ears: a younger, disillusioned version of himself (played by James McAvoy), and he may have well been speaking to me, too. Professor X’s telepathic abilities transcend space, time, and reality—don’t question it too much.

Upon the film’s release, I was freshly laid off from my hometown newspaper after the copy desk saw its numbers cut in half. (What was already a skeleton crew became less than that.) It wasn’t lost on me that being a cynic and malcontent was partly why I wasn’t picked to remain at the paper. In my late 20s, I questioned many of the decisions that set me on my journalism path, unsure what would happen to my career.

The younger Charles Xavier finds himself in a similar spot: angry with himself, with other people, and with the general state of things—and he’s seemingly out of a job. The older Professor X reminds his younger self that people can overcome their self-defeating flaws. “Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn’t mean they’re lost forever.”

Younger Chuck laments being tormented by people’s accounts of their pain, something a person who reads the news for a living can relate to. I try to unplug from Cerebro—er, my computer—when I’m off the clock. Xavier doesn’t have that luxury. The constant voices have driven him to despair and left him increasingly jaded.

But older Xavier calls him out, saying it’s his own mindset that’s holding him back. “We need you to hope again,” he says.

Therein lies the answer to Xavier’s malady: hope. And, as it turns out, the advice was also applicable to a young journalist in a crumbling industry. Incidentally, Stewart also found himself at a career crossroads as a young man, though he wasn’t too far along a chosen path, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

At 15, he got a job at the local newspaper, The Dewsbury Reporter, where he was tasked with interviewing bereaved family members when someone in town died. Journalism turned out not to be his passion, and he spent much of his free time with drama groups. His editor finally told him he had to choose between acting and journalism—and he quit on the spot.

Maybe if I had an Englishman’s commanding baritone, I would have made the same choice.

This famous shot of Jean-Luc Picard launched a million memes.

CBS/Paramount

This famous shot of Jean-Luc Picard launched a million memes. CBS/Paramount

Picard and Data cosplay in a noir detective setting in the TNG episode “The Big Goodbye.”

CBS/Paramount

Picard and Data cosplay in a noir detective setting in the TNG episode “The Big Goodbye.” CBS/Paramount

An older Picard is called out of a peaceful retirement in the spinoff series Picard.

CBS Paramount

An older Picard is called out of a peaceful retirement in the spinoff series Picard. CBS Paramount

Picard and Data cosplay in a noir detective setting in the TNG episode “The Big Goodbye.” CBS/Paramount

An older Picard is called out of a peaceful retirement in the spinoff series Picard. CBS Paramount

Ryan Whitwam, senior technology reporter:

Patrick Stewart was a prolific actor, but I will always associate him most with Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, a show that made a real impression on me as a nerdy kid. It was refreshing to see a leader who valued science and reason—someone who didn’t immediately reach for their phaser. Despite the sometimes silly sci-fi subject matter, Stewart never seemed like he was too good to be spouting technobabble, even though he was famously skeptical of the role at first. Stewart’s portrayal of Picard elevated the series and helped it to age into a classic that I (and I’m sure many of you) still enjoy.

I also appreciate that he took so many different roles in movies and TV during his post-Trek career. Whenever I saw Patrick Stewart pop up on my screen or heard his voice unexpectedly come out of a cartoon character, it was a reminder of how happy TNG made me over the years. I’ll miss that, and I’ll miss knowing that Patrick Stewart is out there being a kind, thoughtful guy off screen.

Lee Hutchinson, senior technology editor:

The version of Patrick Stewart that lives in my head will most often be the noble starship captain who taught us life lessons every Friday night at 7 pm on channel 39. But while Stewart was obviously fantastic at portraying Picard’s stentorian and often stuffy formality, I was surprised when I discovered that the man behind the uniform was… surprisingly hilarious.

I tuned into his early 1994 Saturday Night Live appearance expecting an endless series of Trek riffs, but what I got instead was a sketch about an erotic cake shop run by a weirdly scatological baker. My confusion gave way to giggles—it was a one-note joke, but the image of Stewart in an apron talking about “sexy cakes” has stuck in my head for decades. He committed to it every bit as hard as he committed to following the Prime Directive, and at 16, it made me realize that anyone who could go from “The first duty of a Starfleet officer is to the truth!” to that and sell them both with equal intensity and sincerity was not a one-note actor. This was a man with a hell of a lot of range!

The performance that brought me the most joy, though, was his turn on Ricky Gervais’ Extras, where he played a version of himself as an actor, delivering career advice to Gervais. The scene is a masterclass in expectation subversion, something Stewart often seemed to revel in. I won’t spoil it for the two or three readers who still haven’t had the pleasure, but I will say that to this day my wife and I still say, “I’ve seen everything, I’ve seen it all!” at each other regularly in conversation.