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'Star Trek' star Patrick Stewart dies age 86
'Star Trek' star Patrick Stewart dies age 86
Sven Töniges | Verena Greb10/29/2026October 29, 2026The Shakespearean actor landed the role of a lifetime as "Star Trek" Captain Picard. He passed away at age 86.
https://p.dw.com/p/5OqQJPrefer DW on GoogleFor Star Trek fans, he was the legendary Captain Picard; the British actor and director Patrick Stewart, longtime member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, died on Thursday at the age of 86 following a "brief and poignant journey" with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, according to an official statement on his social media accounts.
In Los Angeles, California, far away from the small English village of Mirfield where he was born, Stewart achieved world fame. He was 47 years old when he landed the role of a lifetime in the legendary science fiction series Star Trek: Playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," he stepped into the shoes of the legendary Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner.
Stewart brought a calm, measured and distinctly British presence that quickly made Picard a fan favorite and a cult figure in the Star Trek universe. He returned to the role decades later in the spin-off series "Star Trek: Picard," which ended in 2023, proving the character's enduring appeal.
As Captain Jean-Luc Picard, he led the crew of the starship Enterprise, a spaceship with the sizeable mission: "To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations" — and most importantly, "to boldly go where no man has gone before!"
In love with Shakespeare
Stewart's interest in acting was sparked in the early 1950s when a teacher asked him to recite a work by Shakespeare. His passion for Shakespeare stayed with him until the end.
His parents were far removed from the glamor of the theatrical world. His father was a highly respected officer in the British Army during World War II, but at home, he was an abusive husband, and young Patrick had to helplessly witness repeated violence against his mother. Stewart wrote about his experiences with domestic violence in The Guardian in 2009. The stage, he confessed there, seemed to him "a far safer place" than reality; he saw acting as a way to escape his home life.
Patrick began acting at the age of 12. At 16, he left school early and, thanks to a scholarship, studied acting in Bristol, England. Along the way, he worked as a journalist. In 1965, he became an official member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and remained with the theather company from 1966 to 1982. Such was his passion for the great English playwright and lyricist that he even shared his sonnets on his Twitter account during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
Stewart dazzled the theater world with his own stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 tale "A Christmas Carol." He played more than 30 roles himself. After its 1987 premiere in Stewart's hometown of Mirfield, the one-man show became a critics' favorite and a long-running hit on Broadway in New York.
'Star Trek' offer from Hollywood
In the same year, Stewart went from being a stage actor to an international TV star. Star Trek producer Robert Justman offered him the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, one of the main characters in a new edition of the popular TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
The successful Shakespearean hesitated. Until then, he had never worked in Hollywood. But his agent encouraged him to accept the role, Stewart recalled in a 2020 interview with the German newspaper Die Welt. "You can accept the offer as a start for now. It won't be a big deal, you can't revive a series as iconic as Star Trek anyway."
Adventures in the universe
But his agent was to be proven wrong: Stewart led the Starship Enterprise through its galactic adventures for seven seasons and four full-length feature films. The TV series had astronomical success on Earth in a very short time. At first, the producers were at odds as to whether Stewart's British accent could really fit the role of commander of a US starship in the 24th century, but it soon became impossible to imagine the series without the subtly diplomatic Captain Picard, who often quoted Shakespeare while at the helm. It seemed as if all the time he had spent as a Shakespearean actor had prepared him to command the Enterprise, Stewart once remarked with a wink. When the cult series ended in 1994, he had ruled out ever returning to the Enterprise's command center.
In 2010, the actor was knighted by the Queen of England. Stewart considered it the greatest honor of his career to stand alongside acting greats such as Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir Alec Guinness.
Beyond the screen, Stewart has long used his voice for social and human rights causes. In recent years, he has drawn attention to issues such as violence against women, age discrimination and the protection of children.
A short-lived retirement
In a June 2020 interview, "Playboy" asked the New York resident whether he was considering retiring from acting. "Never! That would mean giving up my life," replied Stewart, who was approaching his 80th birthday at the time. He was filming the second of three seasons of "Star Trek: Picard." The series ends with a final episode in which the retired Starfleet admiral makes his last appearance. In the series, Picard retires to his family vineyard in France but is drawn back into space to confront new threats to the Federation.
This series also showcases Stewart's affection for his pit bull, Ginger. In "Star Trek: Picard," Picard also has a pit bull, a loyal four-legged companion named Number One — a deliberate reference to Stewart's real-life love of the breed. For his efforts to combat prejudice against pit bulls and to support their adoption, Stewart was honored by the US animal welfare organization ASPCA, among others.
In 2024, he published his memoir "Making it So." In it, he recounts his passion for theater and his love of Shakespeare.
Now, at the age of 86, the British actor has finally departed for another galaxy. Farewell, Patrick Stewart!
Translated from German by Sarah Hucal.
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