AUDIO: Patrick Stewart, icon of film and television, dies aged 86 - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Sir Patrick Stewart played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek series. (AP: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

Critically acclaimed actor Sir Patrick Stewart, has died at the age of 86.

The Brit was a classically trained actor who spent time with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but was perhaps best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Next Generation, a role which vaulted him into global stardom.

Giles Hardie is the ABC's film critic and entertainment journalist. He explains Patrick Stewart's legacy , and how his booming baritone voice endeared him to audiences in a career that spanned 70 years.