Patrick Stewart
(76th anniversary)
13 July 1940
Mirfield, Yorkshire, England, UK
5' 10" (1.78 m)
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 in Star Trek: La nueva generación (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: la próxima generación (1994), Star Trek: Primer contacto (1996), Star Trek: Insurrección (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 accomplishments in theatre, film and television. - IMDb Mini Biography By: International Audience Alliance for Patrick Stewart (IAAPS)
Spouse
Sunny Ozell (7 September 2013 - present)
Wendy Neuss (25 August 2000 - 2003) (divorced)
Sheila Falconer (3 March 1966 - 1990) (divorced) (2 children)
Sunny Ozell (7 September 2013 - present)
Wendy Neuss (25 August 2000 - 2003) (divorced)
Sheila Falconer (3 March 1966 - 1990) (divorced) (2 children)
Trade Mark
Bald head, strong authoritative voice and dedicated Shakespearean bearing
Roles in classical plays and Shakespearean dramas
Frequently plays leaders or authority figures
Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987)
Wry self-depreciating sense of humor
Deadpan comic delivery
Trivia
Father of Sophie Stewart and Daniel Stewart.
Announced his engagement to former Star Trek: Voyager (1995) producer Wendy Neuss, aged 39. [September 1997]
London Fringe Theatre Best Actor Award 1986, for the role of George in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" at the Young Vic.
New York Theater Critics Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance 1993, for "A Christmas Carol" at the Broadhurst.
Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
US TV Guide -- voted "Most Bodacious" male on television in 1993.
During the first season of Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987), he was so convinced that he was going to be fired from the series that he did not unpack his bags for six weeks.
Has a human rights scholarship named after him from Amnesty International.
Best friends with his Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987) castmate Brent Spiner, who was Stewart's best man at the wedding to Star Trek: Voyager (1995) producer Wendy Neuss.
In episodes of Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987), when he got up, he had a habit of tugging on the uniform where it was creased. Jonathan Frakes jokingly called this the Picard Maneuver, and the name stuck.
Is a lifelong supporter of Huddersfield Town Football Club of the Football League.
Is a huge fan of Doctor Who (1963) and Enano rojo (1988).
He accepted the position of Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield and became a British resident again in 2004. [November 2003]
Is a huge fan of the comic book series "Transmetropolitan", written by Warren Ellis. It follows the adventures of journalist Spider Jerusalem in a future of paranoia and corruption, and deals with politics, journalism and, most of all, the truth. He has even written an introduction to "Lonely City", one of the graphic novels in the series, explaining how he enjoys the main character's brutality and hostility towards this world as a desire that we all sometimes feel.
He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1994 (1993 season) for Best Entertainment Award for his adaptation and staged performance of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" at the Old Vic.
Is the new Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, England and made his first official visit to the University on March 10, 2004.
Referred to Commander Riker on Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987) as Number One. When he guest-starred on an episode of Los Simpson (1989), he played a character named Number One.
Along with Colm Meaney and Armin Shimerman, he is one of only three actors to appear in the pilots of two different "Star Trek" series (Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987) and Star Trek: Espacio profundo 9 (1993)). Michael Dorn as Worf was in both "Star Trek: TNG" and "Star Trek: DS9", and John de Lancie was in "Star Trek: TNG", "Star Trek: DS9" and Star Trek: Voyager (1995).
Had the first line in both Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987) and Star Trek: Espacio profundo 9 (1993), and the last line in the former.
On the shortlist for the role of Professor Watson (played by Glyn Houston) in Doctor Who: The Hand of Fear: Part Two (1976) and Doctor Who: The Hand of Fear: Part Three (1976).
On the shortlist for the role of the Castellan (played by Paul Jerricho) in Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity: Part One (1983), Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity: Part Two (1983), Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity: Part Three (1983), Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity: Part Four (1983) and Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983).
Has appeared in two completely different, unrelated productions with Clive Revill about Robin Hood: Star Trek: La nueva generación: Qpid (1991) and Las locas, locas aventuras de Robin Hood (1993).
He was originally the narrator of Pesadilla antes de Navidad (1993). However, director Tim Burton decided to cut most of the narration and also changed the voice. Stewart's original recording can be heard in Danny Elfman's soundtrack because Elfman liked Stewart's reading better.
He played Richard the Lionheart in Las locas, locas aventuras de Robin Hood (1993) and his father King Henry II in El león en invierno (2003).
He has appeared with Kelsey Grammer in five different productions: Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987), Frasier (1993), X-Men. La decisión final (2006), Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2013) and X-Men: Días del futuro pasado (2014).
Is a longtime supporter of the British Labour Party.
Has been close friends with Brian Blessed since childhood.
Is a huge fan of F1. He attended the 2003 British Grand Prix, and has taken part in several celebrity car races.
Has appeared in John le Carré's Calderero, sastre, soldado, espía (1979) and Los hombres de Smiley (1982), as Karla, controller of the Russian Secret Service. In both, he appeared in just one scene, both opposite Sir Alec Guinness and had no dialog in either.
Was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie y la fábrica de chocolate (2005), which went to Johnny Depp.
He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2000 Queen's Millennium Honours list for his services to acting and the cinema.
Because his French character on Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987) has a British accent, he has joked to fans that Jean-Luc Picard was raised by an English nanny.
Besides his character named by Gene Roddenberry after Jacques-Yves Cousteau's close friend, Picard can also be seen as a reference to Captain Pike of the original series. "Picard" means pike handler in French.
Has played two kings of England (Richard Lionheart in Las locas, locas aventuras de Robin Hood (1993) and Henry II in El león en invierno (2003)), and Vice President Dick Cheneyon Padre Made in USA (2005).
Is a huge and very much devoted fan of Monty Python, and he is also good friends with all the Python members and was close personal friends with the late Graham Chapman. He is so much of a fan and friend of the Pythons, that they have publicly announced if there ever was a reunion tour, Stewart would be Chapman's replacement.
Has provided narration for Rick Wakeman's album "Return to the Centre of the Earth" (1999).
Parents are Alfred and Gladys Stewart; has two older brothers: Geoffrey and Trevor Stewart.
Actress Teryl Rothery, who co-starred with Stewart in Mentes maestras (1997) has a longtime crush on the actor, which she often speaks of during convention appearances.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theater at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 16, 1996.
Close friends with Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987) co-star Gates McFadden, who played Dr. Beverly Crusher. Stewart was the one who convinced her to return in the series' third season.
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.
(June 2, 2010) Was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
He has played the same character (Captain Jean-Luc Picard) in four different series: Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987), Star Trek: Espacio profundo 9 (1993), Padre de familia(1999) and Robot Chicken (2005).
Very good friends with Whoopi Goldberg and William Shatner.
When starting on Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987), he was such an unknown with the American networks, that his trailer simply read "British Shakespeare Actor".
Stewart related, on The Graham Norton Show: Liam Neeson/Sir Patrick Stewart/Alan Davies/Ed Sheeran (2012), a memorable encounter he once had in San Francisco where he was severely mistaken when a tipsy couple boarded a hotel elevator with him. No sooner had the doors closed when the man blurted out, "Oh my God, I can't believe it, it's Dr. Spock from Star Wars." To which his wife responded, "Honey no, no, you got it wrong. This is Sir Ben Kingsley.".
Is a self-confessed huge fan of Reba McEntire.
Scheduling conflicts with Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987) forced him to turn down multiple offers to lend his voice to various Disney films including: La sirenita (1989), La bella y la bestia (1991), Aladdin (1992) and Pocahontas (1995).
Engaged to Sunny Ozell, a New York-based jazz singer he has been dating since 2009. [March 2013]
In 2013, when Sir Patrick Stewart married singer/songwriter Sunny Ozell, it was Sir Ian McKellen who they asked to officiate the ceremony. Friends Stewart and McKellen have co-starred in many projects over the years, perhaps most notably as nemeses Charles Xavier and Magneto in the X-Men movies.
Recovering at home in Los Angeles, California after "pre-emptive" angioplasty. [August 2004]
The cast of Star Trek: La nueva generación (1987) playfully nicknamed him "Old Baldy".
Has won three prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards for his work on London's West End stage: "A Christmas Carol", "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Hamlet". He also won the Evening Standard Best Actor Drama award for "Macbeth".
When (presumably) nominated to complete the Ice Bucket Challenge (which involves filming yourself having a bucket of ice tipped over you or pay a forfeit to charity), Stewart released a wordless video in which he wrote out a cheque, then took two ice cubes from a bucket, put them in a glass of whisky, and toasted the camera.
In Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), he worked with Tom Hardy, who played a clone of Jean-Luc Picard. Hardy later appeared in El topo (2011). Stewart had appeared in the original miniseries Calderero, sastre, soldado, espía (1979) as Karla. In X-Men: Días del futuro pasado (2014), Stewart works with James McAvoy, who plays a younger version of Professor Xavier. One of McAvoy's earliest projects was Hijos de Dune (2003). Stewart had appeared in the original Dune (1984).
Lives in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.
He was considered for the roles of Colonel Colin Caine, Dr. Bukovsky, Lamson and Kelly in Lifeforce - Fuerza vital (1985) but was eventually cast as Asylum director Dr. Armstrong in the film.
He has two roles in common with James McAvoy: (1) McAvoy played Macbeth in ShakespeaRe-Told: Macbeth (2005) while Stewart played him in Great Performances: Macbeth (2010) and (2) Stewart played Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men (2000), X-Men 2 (2003), X-Men. La decisión final (2006), X-Men orígenes: Lobezno (2009), Lobezno inmortal (2013) and X-Men: Días del futuro pasado (2014) while McAvoy played him in X-Men: Primera generación (2011), X-Men: Días del futuro pasado (2014) and X-Men: Apocalipsis (2016). They also each share the role of Macbeth with their respective Magnetos, Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender.
Although he played Derek Jacobi's uncle and stepfather in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark(1980), he is almost two years his junior in real life.
Patrick Stewart owns the filming rights to TransmetroPolitician.
He played Claudius in both Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980) and Hamlet (2009).
Personal Quotes
(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 y 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.
(on preparing for the role of Professor X in the film X-Men (2000)) I read a lot of comic books.
I was brought up in a very poor and very violent household. I spent much of my childhood being afraid.
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.
(on his initial belief that he would be fired from Star Trek: La nueva generación (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.
The three things that I am most proud of doing in my life is firstly, Extras (2005); secondly, my appearance on Los Simpson (1989) and thirdly, appearing on Barrio Sésamo(1969).
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.
Before long there was another series, Deep Space Nine, then Voyager, now there is Enterprise. Bill was still filling Captain Kirk's shoes, and I was building shoes of my own.
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.
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)
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)
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)
Reinforcing human rights is the way to reinforce security.
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.
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.
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.".
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?".
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.
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.
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.
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)
On being awarded Knighthood 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.
I had originally not wanted to see Héroes fuera de órbita (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.
Salary
Wild Geese II (1985) 2,000 pounds
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) $100.000 per episode
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) $5.000.000
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) $9.500.000
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) $14.000.000
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