Patrick Stewart

Birthday: 13 July 1940, Mirfield, Yorkshire, England, UK

Birth Name: Patrick Hewes Stewart

Height: 178 cm

Sir Patrick Stewart was born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England, to Gladys (Barrowclough), a textile worker and weaver, and Alfred Stewart, who was in the army. He was a member of various local drama groups from about age 12. He left school at age 15 to work as a junior reporter on a local paper; he quit when his editor told him he was spending too much time at the theatre and not enough working. Stewart spent a year as a furniture salesman, saving cash to attend drama school. He was accepted by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1957. He made his professional debut in 1959 in the repertory theatre in Lincoln; he worked at the Manchester Library Theatre and a tour around the world with the Old Vic Company followed in the early 1960s. Stewart joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966, to begin his 27-year association. Following a spell with the Royal National Theatre in the mid 1980s, he went to Los Angeles, California to star on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), which ran from 1987-1994, playing the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. After the series ended, Stewart reprised his role for a string of successful Star Trek films: Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). Stewart continues to work on the stage and in various films. He was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2010 Queen's New Year's Honours List for his services to drama. Show less «

[on William Shatner] Bill has one style. We have completely contrasting personalities. We're very go...Show more »

[on William Shatner] Bill has one style. We have completely contrasting personalities. We're very good friends. I adore him, but we're very different people, so they were smart enough to write characters that reflected that. Show less «

It would irritate my father so much - because he was a military man, and both my brothers did milita...Show more »

It would irritate my father so much - because he was a military man, and both my brothers did military service, and I didn't - that I walk around New York and I hear, "Hey, Captain, how are you?". Show less «

I would like to see us get this place right first before we have the arrogance to put significantly ...Show more »

I would like to see us get this place right first before we have the arrogance to put significantly flawed civilizations out onto other planets, even though they may be utterly uninhabited. Show less «

I was brought up in a very poor and very violent household. I spent much of my childhood being afrai...Show more »

I was brought up in a very poor and very violent household. I spent much of my childhood being afraid. Show less «

[on his initial belief that he would be fired from Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)] When it fi...Show more »

[on his initial belief that he would be fired from Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)] When it first started, I didn't think that I would survive beyond the pilot. I did not unpack; I didn't see the point. I thought the producers would come to their senses and realize they'd made a grave error in casting me. I was certain that I'd be on my way back to London... Eventually, it became clear to me that not only wasn't I going to go away, the series wasn't going to go away. I stayed, and have relished every moment. Show less «

[on Whoopi Goldberg joining the cast of Star Trek] To begin with, I was a little intimidated by her....Show more »

[on Whoopi Goldberg joining the cast of Star Trek] To begin with, I was a little intimidated by her. Miss Goldberg here joined our show. I think I'm right, the same year that she won her Academy Award. And it was astonishing to me that an actress at the very peak of her career should, as I was told, ask, ask if she could appear on a syndicated science-fiction television show. And so I hadn't met any Academy Award winners before that, so I was a little intimidated. I loved doing those scenes with Whoopi. I wish she had appeared more often. (May 2008) Show less «

I have this theory that these roles, the really great roles - there are elements of them in all of u...Show more »

I have this theory that these roles, the really great roles - there are elements of them in all of us. And that is part of the greatness of this dramatist, that he taps into something which is entirely human. You feel him reaching out his hand and saying to you as an actor, "Come on, it's easier than you think.". Show less «

[when asked if he had any memorable production memories from Star Trek] I had a letter from a Las Ve...Show more »

[when asked if he had any memorable production memories from Star Trek] I had a letter from a Las Vegas police sergeant. He wasn't asking for anything, he just wrote and said how much the show meant to him, and that he loved his work but there were many times when it made him very low and very despairing about society. When that happens, I go home and watch The Next Generation and it restores my belief that the world will get better. (September/October 2006, Star Trek Magazine issue #1) Show less «

[on whether or not he is typecast by audiences as Jean-Luc Picard] I think perhaps when I first walk...Show more »

[on whether or not he is typecast by audiences as Jean-Luc Picard] I think perhaps when I first walk in front of the camera they'll say, "Aha, there, ah, yeah, Jean-Luc, we recognize him despite that charming little mustache." I believe that audiences are really smart enough to let go of that pretty quickly, but that's also my job as an actor to persuade them that, you know, Jean-Luc Picard is left behind and this is someone entirely different... I mean, I'm an actor dedicated to transforming myself and to creating original pieces of work, and I will not accept that my life is going to be forever connected to Jean-Luc Picard in the roles that I play. On the other hand, I'm absolutely delighted that he's still in my life. Actually, I think my appearance in The Simpsons and an appearance that I did on Sesame Street - in praise of the letter B - were perhaps the two most distinguished bits of work that I've done in the United States.[on his love for Beavis and Butt-Head (1993)] Oh, yes, my passion for them remains the same... I think it's one of the most original and brilliant pieces of television that we've seen in recent years. The dialogue is delightful. I simply sit and giggle and laugh all the time. Show less «

I'm going to Stratford next year [2009] to play Claudius in "Hamlet", knowing that I shall never be ...Show more »

I'm going to Stratford next year [2009] to play Claudius in "Hamlet", knowing that I shall never be asked to give my Hamlet. I've done bits of it in recital, but I never played Hamlet, I never played Romeo, I never played Orlando, I never played Benedick. The sad thing is that when you're really ready to play these roles - when you really know how to play them - nobody's going to cast you. Show less «

Reinforcing human rights is the way to reinforce security.

[when asked if he were offered the role on Star Trek today, would he accept it?] Every now and again...Show more »

[when asked if he were offered the role on Star Trek today, would he accept it?] Every now and again I sit in a hotel room, watching the show on television and I go, "Hello. I don't remember this episode." I'll be sitting there watching and forgetting that I ordered room service and there's a knock on the door. I let the guy in and he comes and sees that I'm watching the show. He's going to go back to the kitchen and say, "I've just seen the saddest thing ever. This guy is sitting there watching his old show.". (September/October 2006, Star Trek Magazine issue #1) Show less «

[on being awarded Knight Bachelor in 2010] This is an honour that embraces those actors, directors a...Show more »

[on being awarded Knight Bachelor in 2010] This is an honour that embraces those actors, directors and creative teams who have in these recent years helped fill my life with inspiration, companionship and sheer fun. Show less «

Before long there was another series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), then Star Trek: Voyager (19...Show more »

Before long there was another series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), then Star Trek: Voyager (1995), now there is Enterprise (2001). Bill [William Shatner] was still filling Captain Kirk's shoes, and I was building shoes of my own. Show less «

Having played many roles of scientific intellect I do have an empathy for that world. It's been hard...Show more »

Having played many roles of scientific intellect I do have an empathy for that world. It's been hard on me because flying the Enterprise for seven years in Star Trek and sitting in Cerebro in X-Men has led people to believe that I know what I'm talking about. But I'm still trying to work out how to operate the air conditioning unit on my car. (September/October 2006, Star Trek Magazine issue #1) Show less «

Writing is the strength of any project. If the script isn't good, then you'll be doing a cellophane ...Show more »

Writing is the strength of any project. If the script isn't good, then you'll be doing a cellophane job from day one, patching it up, trying to cover all the holes. Show less «

I had originally not wanted to see [Galaxy Quest (1999)] because I heard it was making fun of Star T...Show more »

I had originally not wanted to see [Galaxy Quest (1999)] because I heard it was making fun of Star Trek, and then Jonathan Frakes rang me up and said, "You must not miss this movie! See it on a Saturday night in a full theatre." And I did, and of course I found it was brilliant. Brilliant. No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did, but the idea that the ship was saved and all of our heroes in that movie were saved simply by the fact that there were fans who did understand the scientific principles on which the ship worked was absolutely wonderful. And it was both funny and also touching in that it paid tribute to the dedication of these fans. Show less «

I had a certain fear of exposing myself too much in my work for a long time. A lot of what performin...Show more »

I had a certain fear of exposing myself too much in my work for a long time. A lot of what performing to me had been was elaborate, and at times quite clever, concealment. Someone once said of acting that it is "telling beautiful lies", and well, it became just no longer satisfactory to work that way. Show less «

All I know is that I have to act. It's a compulsion. I'm driven to it. I wouldn't say that I would d...Show more »

All I know is that I have to act. It's a compulsion. I'm driven to it. I wouldn't say that I would die if it were taken away from me, but a large part of me would shrivel up. Show less «

A lot of these changes we do on stage. So the Apollo audience, whether it's to their taste or not, w...Show more »

A lot of these changes we do on stage. So the Apollo audience, whether it's to their taste or not, will have to tolerate the sight of Josh and myself taking our clothes on and off. Show less «

[on preparing for the role of Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men (2000)] I read a lot of comic books.

The three things that I am most proud of doing in my life is firstly, Extras (2005); secondly, my ap...Show more »

The three things that I am most proud of doing in my life is firstly, Extras (2005); secondly, my appearance on The Simpsons (1989) and thirdly, appearing on Sesame Street (1969). Show less «

There's always this sense in Los Angeles that if you're doing theater, it's because you can't get fi...Show more »

There's always this sense in Los Angeles that if you're doing theater, it's because you can't get film or even television work. Show less «

Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart's FILMOGRAPHY

Patrick Stewart'S roles

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