When I was a kid, I didn’t have living grandmothers. They had both died before I was born. Both of my grandfathers died before I was a teenager. I lost an aunt when I was young. I remember watching The Next Generation and fearing that Patrick Stewart would die during production. The internet didn’t exist yet; I had no idea how old he was.
Thankfully, he was younger than he appeared, and not only lived through all seven seasons but went on to make four feature films as Jean-Luc Picard, and then later three seasons of a series named after the character, the first and to date only time such an honor has been bestowed on someone from the Star Trek franchise.
Patrick’s career wasn’t just Star Trek. He also very famously portrayed Charles Xavier in a series of X-Men films, and in a few follow-up appearances in related movies, the last of which will now be Avengers: Doomsday. Even beyond that he had a thriving career bolstered by his Star Trek and X-Men legacies, often on television but also in film, as well, obviously, as the stage.
I adore him in A Christmas Carol, which I watch every year. I never had the chance to see his one man show, but his portrayal as Scrooge in a TV production will remain a treasured memory and experience.
My favorite Star Trek appearance will always be First Contact, in which he delivers an all-time performance that ought to he celebrated well beyond franchise circles. Someone certainly paid attention because a few years later he portrayed Ahab himself in another TV production, Moby Dick.
My favorite Patrick Stewart performance in an original production is Conspiracy Theory, in which he plays the menacing bad guy opposite Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts.
The brilliant voice he came to be known for started failing him, which I first became aware of in my favorite Professor X appearance, Logan, years ago. A lot of actors, certainly ones well-known for their speaking voice, would’ve retired rather than exhibit such a loss, but he turned it into a newfound vulnerability in his later performances.
I just rewatched The Sheep Detectives, a film he performed in released earlier this year. He voiced one of the sheep. Nobody needed to be told, even if it wasn’t the voice so many fans fell in love with nearly forty years earlier.
Rest in peace, Sir Patrick.
Lovely tribute, Tony. First Contact is my pick too. That "the line must be drawn here" moment still gives me chills, and the Moby Dick connection is a great catch. I also appreciated what you said about Logan. He turned the loss of that famous voice into something brave and honest. Rest well, Captain.
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