Patrick Stewart, a perceptive patriarch in 'Star Trek' and 'X-Men,' dies at 86
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Stewart → die → 86
Sir Patrick Stewart's most famous characters tackled concepts such as honor, morality and courage.
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characters → tackle → honor
He played Professor X in the X-Men franchise and Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the starship USS Enterprise on the show Star Trek: The Next Generation and its later spinoff, Picard.
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He → play → show
Stewart died Wednesday at 86.
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Stewart → die → 86
A post on his Facebook and Instagram pages said he died at home in Los Angeles of "a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.
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he → say → Disease
Although beloved for playing compassionate father figures who united families of misfits, Stewart's own upbringing in Yorkshire, England, was harsh.
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upbringing → belove → Yorkshire
He remembered his father as alcoholic and abusive.
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He → remember → father
He found solace in school, and eventually, in Shakespeare.
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He → find → Shakespeare
He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966, and debuted on Broadway in 1970 in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
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He → join → Dream
"To stand in the middle of an empty stage in an empty theater and feel that I was at home was everything," he told NPR in 2023.
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he → stand → 2023
"But it took a while for me to get there."
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me → take → while
Stewart played alongside some of the best Shakespeareans of his time, including Judi Dench and Ian McKellen.
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Stewart → play → Dench
He was lecturing on Shakespeare at UCLA when his name came up for the lead in a new series of Star Trek.
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name → lecture → Trek
"Don't do this, Patrick," he remembered McKellen advising him.
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McKellen → do → him
But Stewart's agent had reassured him that the show was unlikely to make it past the first season.
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show → reassure → season
As the actor recalled to NPR, he was encouraged to take what he believed to be a quick and easy job.
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he → recall → NPR
And I thought, yeah, that doesn't sound too bad.
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that → think → ?
I could live with that."
But Star Trek: The Next Generation was a tremendous hit.
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Generation → live → that
It aired for seven seasons, from 1987 to 1994.
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It → air → 1994
Stewart was embraced by fans, who adored the character's penchant for Earl Grey tea and cool-headed leadership, with such signature phrases as "Engage!" and "Make it so!"
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it → embrace → phrases
But success on the Starship Enterprise came at a cost.
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success → come → cost
Throughout his career, Stewart portrayed only a handful of Shakespeare's leading men.
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Stewart → portray → men
He put some of that character energy into an award-winning, one-man version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, in which Stewart played more than 40 roles.
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Stewart → put → roles
By the beginning of the 21st century, Stewart had re-established himself on stage while also lending his voice to numerous big-budget animated films.
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Stewart → re → films
He went on to dominate another blockbuster franchise, the X-Men, beginning in 2000.
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He → go → 2000
He'll appear for the last time in his role as Professor Charles Xavier in the upcoming movie Avengers: Doomsday.
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He → appear → movie
As for his signature role, Stewart thought he was done playing Picard.
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he → think → Picard
But a team of producers — including writer Michael Chabon — had different ideas.
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team → include → ideas
They pitched him a new show, Star Trek: Picard, that begin streaming on the CBS service, now called Paramount+, in 2020.
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that → pitch → 2020
"I would've been happy just shaking Patrick Stewart's hand and telling him how much I loved him on Star Trek," Chabon told NPR.
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Chabon → shake → NPR
"But to be able to actually write words that he will speak and act is — it's incredible.
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it → write → that
In the show, Picard is struggling with the psychological damage that led to leaving Starfleet.
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that → struggle → Starfleet
While this Picard was trapped in the past, Patrick Stewart spent his career charting the future.
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Stewart → trap → future
The Aporia
