Patrick Stewart, the acclaimed British actor who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek” and Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” films, has died.
asserted
who → acclaim → films
Stewart died on Wednesday in Los Angeles following “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak said in a statement on Thursday.
Although best known for his film and television roles, Stewart spent much of his career onstage, performing Shakespeare and other classics.
His career included performances as Claudius and Macbeth, a one-man adaptation of “A Christmas Carol”, and West End and Broadway productions of Harold Pinter’s “No Man’s Land” and Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” alongside longtime friend Ian McKellen.
Stewart earned some of the best reviews of his career for his 2007 portrayal of Macbeth, including his only Tony Award nomination. The Times of London described his Macbeth performance as “an enthralling creation of frailty, appetite, egotism and grim humour”.
asserted
Times → die → frailty
“Nearly 50 years I’ve waited,” Stewart told the Associated Press news agency in 2008.
asserted
Stewart → wait → 2008
“I learned it when I was 14.
asserted
I → learn → it
I memorized all the soliloquies just because I thought they were great.
asserted
they → memorize → soliloquies
And they stuck, so I didn’t have to learn those bits of the play, which is a blessing, because learning lines has now become the one curse of this job.
asserted
learning → stick → job
From working-class Yorkshire to Shakespeare
Raised in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, a working-class corner of northern England, the future 24th-century commander of a starship grew up without a bathroom in his house.
asserted
commander → raise → house
He joined an amateur drama group at 12 and, as a teenager, memorised Shakespeare for fun.
asserted
He → join → fun
A scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School helped launch his acting career.
asserted
scholarship → help → career
Stewart, who developed alopecia at a young age, had been bald since he was 19.
asserted
he → develop → age
His childhood was also marked by domestic violence.
asserted
childhood → mark → violence
His father, a former regimental sergeant major in the British Army, was prone to outbursts of “repeated violence against my mother,” as Stewart wrote in a newspaper piece.
asserted
Stewart → repeat → piece
“Violence is always a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”
asserted
he → make → it
Stewart later became a patron of Refuge, a charity supporting survivors of domestic abuse.
asserted
Stewart → become → abuse
Stewart spent 14 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing everyone from Mark Antony and Henry IV to Shylock and Oberon.
“People who were not in the company would say to me, ‘Give it a break.
asserted
who → spend → break
Why don’t you go somewhere else?’
asserted
you → go → ?
And I would say, ‘To do what?'” he told the AP.
asserted
he → say → AP
He eventually left and appeared in the 1981 film “Excalibur”.
asserted
He → leave → film
In 1987, shortly after performing in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, he was offered a role in a science fiction series.
asserted
he → perform → series
“I found myself in Hollywood shooting a syndicated science fiction series, which I was assured would fail,” he said.
asserted
he → find → series
But “Star Trek: The Next Generation” ran for seven seasons and 178 episodes.
asserted
Trek → run → seasons
Stewart became known worldwide as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, whose command, “Make it so”, became one of the show’s best-known lines.
asserted
it → know → lines
Stewart also played Professor Charles Xavier, the leader of the X-Men, beginning with the 2000 film “X-Men”.
asserted
Stewart → play → film
He returned to the role in several sequels, including 2017’s “Logan”, alongside Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
asserted
He → return → Wolverine
Stewart died just days after Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Pavel Chekov in the original “Star Trek” series, which aired from 1966 to 1969.
asserted
which → die → 1969
Queen Elizabeth II knighted Stewart in June 2010.
asserted
II → knight → June
He also served as an ambassador for the International Rescue Committee.
asserted
He → serve → Committee
The Aporia
