Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart, OBE, (born July 13, 1940 in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England) is a British film, television, and stage actor best known for his roles in Shakespearean productions, Captain Jean-Luc Picard in ', and Professor Xavier in both X-Men and X2. His bald head and classically trained vocal mannerisms are his trademarks.

Related Topics:
OBE - July 13 - 1940 - Mirfield - Yorkshire - England - British - Film - Television - Actor - Shakespearean - Jean-Luc Picard - Professor Xavier - X-Men - X2 - Bald

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His first appearance on stage was at a local outdoor history pageant as Tom of Towngate when he was nine years old. At the age of 12, he entered the local secondary modern school where he continued to study drama. He has said that "the greatest thing that ever happened to me" was after he read Shylock aloud in front of his class and his teacher told him, "Stewart, you're good at this. You should do it for a living."

Related Topics:
Tom of Towngate - Secondary modern school - Shylock

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At 15, he dropped out of school and increased his participation in local theatre. He acquired a job as a newspaper reporter, but after a year, his employer gave him an ultimatum to choose acting or journalism. He quit the job. His brother tells the story that Stewart would attend rehearsals during work time and then invent the stories he reported. Supposedly, this caught up with him the night of a large fire of which, when questioned by his boss, he knew nothing about.

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At 16 he was a furniture salesman, and at 17, he registered in the Bristol Old Vic. He lost most of his hair by the age of 19 (alopecia runs in his family), but he successfully sold himself to theatre producers, after performing an audition with and without a wig, as "two actors for the price of one!". In 1964 he met the Old Vic's choreographer Sheila Falconer and they married on March 4, 1966 . They had two children, Daniel Freedom Stewart and Sophie Alexandra Stewart, and divorced in 1990.{{fn|1}}

Related Topics:
Bristol Old Vic - Alopecia - 1964 - March 4 - 1966 - 1990

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He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 where he appeared next to actors such as Ben Kingsley and Ian Richardson—and even played on the company's football (soccer) team. He then moved to the Royal National Theatre in the early 1980s. Over the years, Stewart took roles in many major television series without ever becoming a household name. He appeared as Sejanus in I, Claudius; Karla in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People; Claudius in a 1980 BBC adaptation of Hamlet and took the romantic male lead in the BBC adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's North and South (wearing a hairpiece).

Related Topics:
Royal Shakespeare Company - 1966 - Ben Kingsley - Ian Richardson - Football (soccer) - Royal National Theatre - 1980s - Sejanus - I, Claudius - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - Smiley's People - 1980 - Hamlet - BBC - Mrs Gaskell - North and South

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Diehard fans will recognize him in a minor role as King Leondegrance in John Boorman's Excalibur (1981). He played the character Gurney Halleck in David Lynch's 1984 film version of Dune. Much of his part was cut from the original release of the film due to editing made to make the immensely long film shorter. Much of this footage was restored on the television broadcast of the film on Fox Television.

Related Topics:
King Leondegrance - John Boorman - Excalibur - 1981 - Gurney Halleck - David Lynch - 1984 - Dune - Fox Television

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In 1987, after doing a Shakespeare Seminar at UCSB, Stewart went to Los Angeles to star as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in ' (1987-1994). From 1994 he also portrayed Picard in the movie spin-offs ' (1994), ' (1996), ' (1998), and ' (2002). In 1997 he was engaged to Voyager production assistant Wendy Neuss and they married On August 25, 2000, only to later divorce on October 14, 2003. His life was substantially changed by Star Trek, and he has been quoted as saying:

Related Topics:
1987 - UCSB - Los Angeles - Jean-Luc Picard - 1994 - Spin-off - 1996 - 1998 - 2002 - 1997 - August 25 - 2000 - October 14 - 2003

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:"It was almost entirely a blessing. It introduced me to a world I never expected to be a part of — celebrity, fame, financial success. It also gave me the chance to work with the finest group of people I've ever known."

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The accolades included being called the "Sexiest Man on Television" one year in the 1990s, which considered an unusual distinction considering his age and his baldness. In an interview with Michael Parkinson, he expressed gratitude for Gene Roddenberry's riposte to a reporter who said, "Surely they would have cured baldness by the 24th century," to which Roddenberry replied, "In the 24th Century, they wouldn't care."

Related Topics:
1990s - Baldness - Michael Parkinson - Gene Roddenberry

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Stewart has said that at this point another Star Trek: Next Generation film is unlikely.

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In 1991, he performed his one-man-play adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in which he performed the roles of all of the 40-plus characters himself. His radiant energy and marvellous performance was repeated the following year in 1992 and then 1993, 1994, 1996 and then again, to benefit September 11th charities in 2001. For his performances in this play, he has received the Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance in 1992 and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment for Solo Performance in 1994. 1997 would see Patrick invert Shakespeare's Othello. Originally a play about a Black African entering a white Society, Patrick had wanted to play the title role since the age of 14, so he (and long with director Jude Kelly), inverted the play so Othello became a White man in a Black Society. In 1998, he performed Prospero in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, on Broadway, in New York City

Related Topics:
Charles Dickens' - A Christmas Carol - September 11th - Drama Desk Award - Laurence Olivier Award - Othello - Prospero - William Shakespeare - The Tempest - Broadway - New York City

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He has played a great range of characters, from the flamboyantly gay Sterling in the 1995 film Jeffrey to King Henry II in Lion in Winter and Captain Ahab in Moby Dick.

Related Topics:
1995 - Jeffrey - Henry II - Captain Ahab

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Stewart has also starred in X-Men and X2 as Charles Xavier and the film's success has appeared to have resulted in another lucrative regular role in the burgeoning superhero film series. Most recently, he has signed up to play the role of Professor Alan Hood, the lead character in the forthcoming ITV science-fiction thriller series The Eleventh Hour, created by Stephen Gallagher.http://www.eleventhhour.tv/

Related Topics:
X-Men - X2 - Charles Xavier - Superhero - ITV - Stephen Gallagher

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Although he has had a tremendous amount of success doing films, he prefers theatre. He told reporters that "Ingmar Bergman was once asked which he preferred and said, 'I love making movies, but the theatre is my life. That exactly sums it up for me, too.'"

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Stewart has lent his recognizable voice to a number of projects. He has narrated recordings of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, C. S. Lewis's The Last Battle (part of the series The Chronicles of Narnia), and Rick Wakeman's Return to the Centre of the Earth. His voice-acting work includes video games (not only in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, but in games such as Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone and ') and many animated films, including English translations of Japanese anime such as Steamboy and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. He also voiced Napoleon in a TV adaptation of Animal Farm He has been a guest voice on The Simpsons as the leader of the Stonecutters. Most recently, Stewart provided the voice for one of the heads of the CIA on the Fox cartoon "American Dad".

Related Topics:
Prokofiev - Peter and the Wolf - Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - C. S. Lewis - The Last Battle - The Chronicles of Narnia - Rick Wakeman - Return to the Centre of the Earth - Video games - Forgotten Realms - Demon Stone - Anime - Steamboy - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Animal Farm - The Simpsons - American Dad

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Stewart is currently the Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield. He is probably the most famous supporter of Huddersfield Town Football Club, following in the footsteps of former British Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Stewart is a lifelong supporter of the British Labour Party.

Related Topics:
Chancellor - University of Huddersfield - Huddersfield Town Football Club - Harold Wilson - British Labour Party

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Stewart was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours list.

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