Sir Patrick Stewart, the English actor who brought the same gravity to Shakespeare, starship bridges and superhero mansions, died on October 28, 2026. He was 86.
Sir Ian McKellen, his longtime friend and X-Men colleague, shared a tribute following the news. You can read it on his X account.
Stewart was born on July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England. His professional life began on the stage, and in 1966 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His first television role came a year later on Coronation Street, and in 1971 he made his Broadway debut in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Television audiences came to know him through a run of prestigious British productions in the 1970s, including Fall of Eagles, I, Claudius and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He returned to Shakespeare often. In 2008 he reprised the role of King Claudius in Hamlet, earning his second Olivier Award and his first Tony nomination for the West End and Broadway productions. He was knighted for his services to drama in 2010.
International fame arrived with Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which he played Captain Jean-Luc Picard from 1987 to 1994, then again in four films and in Star Trek: Picard, which ran from 2020 to 2023. Later in his career he showed a gift for comedy, earning Emmy nominations for guest roles on Frasier and Extras, and he worked regularly with Seth MacFarlane, voicing Avery Bullock on American Dad! and narrating both Ted films.
For many viewers, Stewart is first of all Picard, a captain defined by diplomacy, curiosity and quiet authority. Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven seasons and made a leader of that kind feel like something worth aspiring to.
Series · 1987Star Trek: The Next GenerationFollow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the all-new USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, as they explore new worlds.Open in onNext
His other defining role was Charles Xavier, which he first played in X-Men and again in X2. Stewart gave the telepathic teacher a calm, humane presence that anchored the ensemble, and his scenes with McKellen, whose Magneto was both rival and old friend, remain a highlight of the series.
Movie · 2000X-MenTwo mutants, Rogue and Wolverine, come to a private academy for their kind whose resident superhero team, the X-Men, must oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers.Open in onNext
He revisited Xavier one final time in Logan, where the character is frail and frightened and the performance is tender and unguarded. It is a fitting capstone to nearly two decades with the role.
Movie · 2017LoganIn the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hideout on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are upended when a young mutant…Open in onNext
Stewart's range was wide. In Dune he played Gurney Halleck, the loyal warrior-minstrel, early in his screen career, and in Conspiracy Theory he played the sinister Dr. Jonas.
Patrick Stewart spent more than sixty years on stage and screen, and his last film appearance was in Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. If you want to celebrate his career, the work is waiting on onNext. Pick one of his films or episodes, watch it with a friend, and tell us what you thought.
Movie · 2026Avengers: DoomsdayBeloved heroes from three distinct universes are set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they've ever encountered.Open in onNext
