Once billed by the American entertainment press as an “unknown British Shakespearean actor” when he was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, actor Patrick Stewart dies at the age of 86. Prior to his starring role in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Next Generation theatrical movies, and Star Trek: Picard, Stewart had enjoyed an illustrious career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company since the 1960s, with his on-screen appearances dating back to roughly the same time, often in BBC presentations of stage plays, followed by appearances in prestigious productions such as I, Claudius and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in the 1970s. The 80s brought big-screen appearances in such films as Excalibur, David Lynch’s Dune, and Lifeforce, culminating in a stay in L.A. where he was spotted by producer Bob Justman, who was at the time assisting Gene Roddenberry in the pre-production of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The authority Stewart lent to Picard helped to legitimize the new Star Trek series and its subsequent spinoff movies. In the 1990s, Stewart landed the role of Professor Charles Xavier in the first X-Men movie, acting opposite his old friend Ian McKellen as Magneto and once again making the idea of a Marvel Comics-based movie franchise viable. Movie roles and even returns to television (Blunt Talk, Extras, The Eleventh Hour) followed, as did an eventual return to the Star Trek universe for three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. All the while, he used his visibility and his following to boost domestic violence awareness and prevention, among other causes. He received a knighthood in 2010.
