Patrick Stewart, Star Trek Star and Elder Statesman of Modern Sci-Fi, Dead at 86

Patrick Stewart, the legendary actor known for his theater work and roles such as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died. He was 86 years old. Born on July 13th, 1940 in West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Stewart began his career as a theater actor, making his first professional stage appearance in 1959 and joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. He acted in a number of large-scale productions on both sides of the pond, including Peter Brooks’ celebrated 1971 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which led to his first Broadway appearance. By the mid ‘70s, Stewart began appearing in television and films, and by the mid ‘80s, he had landed roles in historical dramas like I, Claudius and Fall of Eagles (where he played Vladimir Lenin) and movies like David Lynch’s Dune. Still, the stage was his home and, for the most part, he preferred it that way. In 1980, he famously asked Doctor Who actor Lalla Ward: “Why do you do all this television? Why don’t you do proper stuff like theater?” When Ward explained that she actually loved the process and found the content interesting, Stewart replied: “But science fiction, I mean, why would you want to do science fi...