A bromance with Gandalf, a world career thanks to a space captain and dark thoughts as a child. In short: Sir Patrick Stewart's life.
Logbook entry, it is the year 1940: On July 13, a boy named Patrick Stewart was born in the small town of Mirfield in the English county of West Yorkshire. What nobody could have guessed at this sidereal time: He should only lose his hair splendor even faster than maturing to become the sought-after character of the Royal Shakespeare Company – at 19.
This did no harm to the charismatic Briton, on the contrary. Since the 80s there has been a presumption that Mr. Stewart basically no longer ages. This steep thesis is supported by the lovable, downright mischievous friendship that he cultivates with his Sir colleague Ian McKellen (81) to this day. So on paper Captain Jean-Luc Picard may be celebrating his 80th birthday. The pension still seems to be light years away.
Desires to murder his own father
Given his childhood, Patrick Stewart has developed into such a happy nature. In 2009, the same year he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II (94), "The Guardian" published a remarkable guest post by Stewart. In it he tells of his violent father, who was "evacuated from Dunkirk as one of the very last men in the Second World War".
Although the war veteran never touched Stewart himself, he did hit his mother – he had to experience it "week after week, year after year and from the age of seven". A terrible certainty matured in his child's head: "The terror and suffering caused by (my father) was so great that I would have killed him if I had been able to do it. If my mother had tried , I would have been there to hold him. "
This traumatic childhood left its mark, but Stewart uses it to do good. Since then he has been passionate about domestic violence and also works for the "Combat Stress" organization. It helps people who suffer from war neuroses and thus become violent criminals – like Stewart's father.
Asked and left behind
From the age of twelve, Stewart took refuge in other worlds. He started to play theater and eventually got a scholarship to the Old Vic Theater School and at 19 to professional theater. Then at the age of 25 the professional accolade: Stewart was accepted into the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company, to which he has been an honorary member until today.
In contrast, the exceptional talent in film and television productions was spurned for a long time. The first somewhat larger production ("Ich Claudius, Kaiser und Gott") was a long time coming in the series subject until 1976, in the cinema he even had to wait until 1980 ("Der kleine Lord"). Further small roles followed in "Excalibur" (1981) and "The Desert Planet" (1984). Would Patrick Stewart have ended up sinking if he hadn't escaped to foreign galaxies in 1987?
Captain and mutant
The role of Starfleet captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Starship Enterprise – The Next Century" was as banal as it was demanding for Stewart. Purely acting, he was hopelessly overqualified for the part, but succeeded the iconic Captain Kirks (William Shatner, 89). It didn't take long, however, and the captain with the British accent and a penchant for Shakespeare quotes had warp-speeded himself into the hearts of the trekkies.
He served 178 episodes on board the Enterprise in seven seasons – as long as no other "Star Trek" captain. There were also four films about Picard and his crew, of which only "Star Trek: The First Contact" was able to convince the critics completely.
Even before he was promoted to (temporary) retirement as a spaceship captain, he made it to the figurehead of another well-known series. In 2000 the first "X-Men" film was released, in which Stewart embodied the powerful and righteous mutant Professor Charles Xavier. The stroke of genius of the producers: Stewart's long-time companion Ian McKellen was hired as a former friend and now mortal enemy Erik Lensherr / Magneto.
They knew each other from the 70s in the theater and helped a supposedly shallow superhero story to astonishingly much depth and complexity. Basically what Stewart already achieved with his role as Picard – witty mainstream.
Nobody can beam good friends apart
Patrick Stewart married for the first time in 1966, at that time the choreographer Sheila Falconer. Their marriage lasted until 1990, about ten years later he again ventured out to the altar. He got to know the bride, producer Wendy Neuss, thanks to "Spaceship Enterprise" – as well as his best man. He was none other than Brent Spiner (71) aka "Star Trek" character Data. Unlike friendship, marriage lasted only three years.
Trust in a good buddy in marriage number three went a step further. When he married the 38-year-old singer Sunny Ozell in September 2013, Sir Ian McKellen led the ceremony. He had just given a priest's certificate in the US state of California and enthused the audience with an emotional speech: "It was very moving. I looked around and the guests wiped away the tears – men and women," quoted "USA Today" the actor. The pinnacle of a heart-warming old man's bromance that has been around for over 50 years.
Not a thing of the past
How much old companions and fans appreciate him alike can be seen from Stewart's latest project. With "Picard" he has been wearing the Starfleet uniform again since 2019 and for the first time since "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002). Stars like Spiner, Jonathan Frakes (67, William T. Riker) or Marina Sirtis (65, Deanna Troi) did not miss out on guest appearances. A second season of the sci-fi series is already in the works. So soon Stewart will again penetrate into galaxies that no human has ever seen before – and which 80-year-old can say that about himself?