Patrick Stewart, Star Trek's Picard and X-Men's Professor X, Dies at 86

Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies, has died at 86. His family shared the news in a statement on his official social media channels, and his representative confirmed it to The Hollywood Reporter (LADbible).

"We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles," the statement began. It said he died on October 28 after "a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia," with his wife, Sunny Ozell, by his side (ComicBook.com).

How did Patrick Stewart become Jean-Luc Picard?

Stewart grew up in Mirfield, in West Yorkshire. He spent years as a stage actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company before Star Trek found him. He played Picard in The Next Generation from 1987 to 1994, then led four Star Trek movies, from Generations to Nemesis.

He came back to the role more than 20 years later in Star Trek: Picard, which ran for three seasons from 2020 to 2023. For a whole generation of fans, Picard was the captain. He solved problems with patience, kindness and a calm "Make it so."

What did he mean to the X-Men movies?

Stewart played Professor Charles Xavier for more than two decades, starting with X-Men in 2000. He came back in X2, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Then he gave one of the best performances of his career next to Hugh Jackman in Logan in 2017.

He played a version of Xavier again in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022, and he was part of the cast announced for Avengers: Doomsday, which opens on December 18.

What else should fans know about his life?

Stewart was knighted in 2010 for his services to drama. He never stopped working on stage, including on Broadway with his close friend Ian McKellen. His family's statement also pointed to his charity work for human rights, domestic violence survivors, refugees, veterans' mental health and animals. He was a lifelong Huddersfield Town fan, too.

The statement closed with a line from his 2023 memoir, Making It So, about Picard, saying "he feels the call of home, as do I." In lieu of flowers, his family has asked for donations to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Fund and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's caregiver resources.

Patrick Stewart gave fans two of the most important characters in science fiction and comic book movies, and he made both of them feel wise, warm and human. Thank you, Captain.

Images are official stills from Star Trek: Picard and Logan, via TMDB.