Remembering Sir Patrick Stewart, Captain Picard and Professor X - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Sir Patrick Stewart, the actor known as Captain Picard in Star Trek and Professor X in X-Men, has died aged 86.

His family said he died in the loving care of his wife Sunny following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.

So what made his work, from Shakespearean stage dramas to Hollywood, span so many generations?

Sir Patrick Stewart played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek series. (Twitter: Patrick Stewart)

Star Trek and interview archive: These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission to explore strange new worlds.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: Whether it was as Captain Picard in Star Trek, Professor X in X-Men or on stage in Shakespearean dramas, Sir Patrick Stewart's work spanned demographics and generations. The award-winning actor died after suffering from Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia. Star Trek The Next Generation and its lead actor grew a large fan base over the late 80s and early 90s spanning seven seasons and four films.

Star Trek and interview archive: This is not about revenge. Liar! This is about saving the future of humanity! Jean Luc blow up the damn ship! No!

Sean Tarek Goodwin: In an interview in 2024, Patrick Stewart said the role was a highlight of his career.

Patrick Stewart: The attraction the next generation had for so many, probably millions of people, is largely due to the ensemble.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: After deciding to branch out from the long running franchise, he was convinced to enter another, taking on the role of Professor Charles Xavier in the film adaptation of the X-Men comics.

X-Men: You'll be safe here from Magneto, a very powerful mutant who believes that a war is brewing between mutants.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: That's where he bonded with Sir Ian McKellen, who played Magneto. McKellen said the two became lifelong friends.

Sir Ian McKellan: It's the little pussy cat inside Patrick which endears me and the times when we giggle together and sometimes have to hold on to each other and say are we going to get through it.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: It wasn't the lights of Hollywood that drew Stewart to acting but the boards of his local amateur theatre in his hometown of Mirfield in Northern England. He said that's where he found refuge from a violent home as a teen.

Patrick Stewart: At a very early stage, I found that the stage was a safe place to be. It was predictable, it was planned, it was coordinated.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: He followed that passion into the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before he was chosen to join the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966.

Patrick Stewart: Though yet of Hamlet, our dear brother's death, the memory be green.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: Stewart was drawn back to his the act. Stewart was drawn back to his theatrical roots after his Hollywood success, spending his later years juggling roles on the screen and stage.

Patrick Stewart: When I went to do all this exciting and thrilling work in Hollywood and remunerative work to end sunshine and palm trees and all of that, it was fun but there was a substance that was lacking in it.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: He also tried his hand at comedy featuring opposite Ricky Gervais in the sitcom Extras where Stewart played himself.

Extras: So in my film I play a man who controls the world with his mind. Right, that's interesting. Yeah for instance I'm walking along and I see this beautiful girl and I think I'd like to see her naked and so all her clothes fall off. All her clothes fall off? Yes and she's scrabbling around to get them back on again but even before she can get her knickers on, I've seen everything, you know. I've seen it all.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2010, and in his lifetime, he won two Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards and a Grammy for voice acting. Here's film critic Zac Hepburn.

Zac Hepburn, Film critic: He really was one of those true thespians, which, you know, unfortunately, we're seeing less and less of these days. He was a true icon of the stage and screen.

Sean Tarek Goodwin: His family announced his death on social media... saying he died aged 86 in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. They said he will be remembered for the dignity, compassion and humanity he brought to every role in his art and life.

Star Trek and interview archive: I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again.