Sir Patrick Stewart was a different kind of icon for different generations. For my generation, he was Professor X, aka Charles Xavier. It was a role he played only in the last moments of his life, but certainly not in his career. But for older folks, he’ll always be Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek movies and shows. The stage and screen icon spoke to Hindustan Times during his last stint in Picard. In a chat in February 2022, Sir Patrick talked about Pickard, who was acting in his 80s, and how he is still inspired to find and do more work, especially on stage.
‘Live performance has the biggest impact on me’
The conversation started well. To this day, Sir Patrick is one of the few Westerners who got my name with the correct pronunciation. As soon as I told him, he laughed and incorporated it into his theater training. Before becoming Picard, Sir Patrick was a Shakespearean actor, known for his powerful performances in the West End and later on Broadway. And even after arriving on screen four decades ago, the actor still saw the stage as his first love.
“I have to honestly say that it’s the live performance that has the biggest impact on me. When you’re in the theater in front of an audience, it doesn’t matter whether there are 20 people sitting there or 2000 – they’re all there in that moment. And one of the things that actors love and focus on is being in that moment themselves. Every time the curtain goes up, it’s a different show because it’s a different day,” he said.
Picard returns at 80
Sir Patrick first played the role of Picard in 1987, reprising his role in several films and TV shows over the next decade. So, it was a surprise when he reprized the role almost 25 years later in Star Trek: Picard. Amazon Prime Video series.
Sir Patrick said he almost did not return. “I just wanted to tell them face to face that I was not going to accept their offer. I felt I had explored everything there was to know about the life of Jean-Luc Picard. They (the producers) told me, ‘Okay, Patrick, it’s been 30 years since you last wore the captain’s uniform, and the stories we want to tell also include 30 years for Jean-Luc. He would have been in a different kind of world than the one we saw in ‘Trek: The Next Generation,’ and I was very intrigued by that,” he recalled.
He was 80 years old when he returned as Picard and filmed three full seasons over the course of the next three years. It was intense and exhausting, yet the veteran actor found it rewarding. He told Us in 2022, “I’ve been filming every week for the last year and a little bit because we did seasons two and three literally back to back. For a person in their 80s, it’s been a challenging time, but I’ve been very well looked after. They’re taking good care of me, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.”
‘There’s something I really want to do’
Avengers: Doomsday, which will release in December, will be the late actor’s final screen appearance. Earlier he had done a cameo in Riz Ahmed’s bat. Even at the age of 80, Patrick Stewart remains active and prolific. In 2022, he summarized his approach to acting in his final years when he said, “There are other interesting things I want to do, including hopefully returning to Shakespeare at some point.”
Patrick Stewart dies at the age of 86
Patrick Stewart died Wednesday in Los Angeles after “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, spokeswoman Kelly Bush Novak said. He is survived by his wife, Brooklyn songwriter and singer Sunny Ozell, and two children: a daughter, Sophia, and a son.