- Published
Sir Patrick Stewart, who has died at the age of 86, was a stage and screen great who balanced Hollywood stardom with an equally stellar career in classical theatre.
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who → publish → theatre
While many actors are typecast, he moved effortlessly from Shakespeare and Dickens to the command of the USS Enterprise and his famous wheelchair in X-Men.
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he → move → Men
In a career that spanned seven decades, Sir Patrick received multiple awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
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Patrick → span → II
One of the world's most versatile actors, he mastered both comedy and tragedy, science-fiction and historical drama - despite the entertainment industry's traditional dislike of bald heads.
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he → master → heads
Patrick Hewes Stewart was born in Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire on 13 July 1940.
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Stewart → bear → July
She was active in amateur dramatics and encouraged her three sons to take part.
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She → encourage → 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.
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experience → shred → health
"My father was a very potent individual," Stewart later recalled.
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Stewart → recall → ?
"It was said that when he strode on to the parade ground, birds stopped singing.
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birds → say → ground
But Alfred Stewart had become a quick-tempered man, suffering from what would now be called post traumatic stress.
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what → become → ?
He was prone to drink and often took out his frustrations on his family - although Patrick himself was never the target of his fists.
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Patrick → take → fists
Young Patrick's love of drama developed at school when one of his teachers introduced him to Shakespeare and encouraged him to perform.
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one → develop → him
He found the predictability of dramatic performances a welcome change form the turmoil of his home life.
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predictability → find → life
He left school at 15 and eventually got a job as a journalist and obituary writer on the Dewsbury Reporter.
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He → leave → Reporter
He also threw himself enthusiastically into the flourishing local theatre.
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He → throw → theatre
"I used to recite Shakespeare from memory," he said.
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he → use → memory
"I just learned all these big speeches."
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I → learn → speeches
But he found it impossible to concentrate on both his job and his acting.
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it → find → job
Eventually his editor told him to choose between journalism and the "foolhardy" acting.
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editor → tell → journalism
Stewart picked up his typewriter and walked out.
At the age of 18, he had the traumatic experience of losing all his hair, a huge blow to an aspiring actor and self-conscious teenager - who worried that girls would no longer find him attractive.
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him → pick → actor
He won a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic and later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company - playing a variety of roles across the company's repertoire.
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He → win → repertoire
And when not appearing as Oberon or Enobarbus, he made his TV debut as a fireman in a 1967 episode of soap opera Coronation Street.
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he → appear → Street
His Broadway debut came in 1970 as Snout in Peter Brook's critically acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
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debut → come → Dream
Over the next two decades, Stewart appeared in a variety of television roles without threatening to become a major star.
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Stewart → appear → roles
In 1974, he played Lenin in the BBC's 13-part drama series The Fall of Eagles.
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he → play → Eagles
In 1984, Stewart left the RSC and moved to the National Theatre.
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Stewart → leave → Theatre
Now in his mid-40s, he had only ever been unemployed for three weeks, but was rarely cast as a main character.
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he → cast → character
He'd landed a number of minor film roles: including playing Guinevere's father in Excalibur, a minstrel in Dune, and a riding instructor in Little Lord Fauntleroy.
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He → land → Fauntleroy
And he was the voice of a small character in the animated film of Richard Adams' novel The Plague Dogs.
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he → animate → novel
But even he described the first half of his career as "sound but never spectacular".
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he → describe → career
Then came the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
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role → come → Picard
A producer named Robert L Justman was intent on reviving the Star Trek franchise, and was looking for a successor to William Shatner's legendary James T Kirk.
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producer → name → Kirk
He had hoped to find a sexy, hirsute Frenchman to play the role - but chanced upon Stewart giving a lecture to his wife's Shakespeare class in Los Angeles.
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Stewart → hop → Angeles
Justman turned to his wife.
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Justman → turn → wife
"I said I think I've found our new captain," he said.
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he → say → captain
He knew nothing about the original Star Trek and his great friend Sir Ian McKellen, told him not to throw his stage career away on a wild goose chase into space.
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friend → know → space
But in need of a boost to his finances, Stewart signed a six-year contract, firmly believing the show wouldn't last and he'd be back on the boards before long.
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he → sign → boards
"Everybody told me it would be a flop," he recalled.
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he → tell → me
"A friend of mine said, 'Get a suntan, make some money, go home.'
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friend → say → money
"
He was, however, pleased that the producers didn't mind his baldness.
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producers → mind → baldness
…and 38 more, not listed.
The Aporia
