Patrick Stewart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Patrick Stewart
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Stewart in July 2019
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| Born | 13 July 1940 Mirfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
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| Alma mater | Bristol Old Vic Theatre School |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1959–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
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Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is a famous English actor. His career has lasted for more than 70 years on both stage and screen. He has won many awards, including two Olivier Awards and a Grammy Award. He has also been nominated for a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and four Emmy Awards. In 2010, Queen Elizabeth II made him a knight for his work in acting.
Stewart is known worldwide for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies.
He started his career in 1966 with the famous Royal Shakespeare Company. He first appeared on Broadway in 1971. He won his first major award in 1979 for a play in London's West End. Stewart has also acted in many TV shows, including Moby Dick (1998) and A Christmas Carol (1999). He is also the voice of CIA executive Avery Bullock on the cartoon show American Dad!.
Early Life and School
Patrick Stewart was born in Mirfield, England, on 13 July 1940. His mother, Gladys, was a textile worker, and his father, Alfred, was a soldier in the British Army during World War II. He has two older brothers, Geoffrey and Trevor.
Stewart grew up in a poor home and had a difficult childhood. His father suffered from what is now called PTSD after the war, which made life at home hard. Stewart said that acting became a way for him to express himself.
His English teacher, Cecil Dormand, gave him a copy of a Shakespeare play and encouraged him to act. This started his love for the theatre. At age 15, he left school to work at a local newspaper but quit to focus on acting. He also worked in a furniture store and trained as a boxer. He and his friend, actor Brian Blessed, both received grants to attend the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, a famous acting school.
Acting Career
Starting on Stage and Screen (1959–1987)
Stewart's first professional acting job was in 1959. In 1966, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he performed for many years alongside famous actors like Ben Kingsley and Ian Richardson.
He also began appearing on television. He had small roles in shows like Coronation Street and I, Claudius. He also appeared in movies, including Excalibur (1981) and Dune (1984).
At first, Stewart preferred acting in classic plays. He was not sure about working in science fiction. In 1987, he was offered a role in a new Star Trek show. He and his agent thought the show would not last long, so he agreed to do it. They believed he would make some money and then return to his stage career in London.
Becoming a Star (1987–Present)
Star Trek: The Next Generation
When Stewart was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he was not well-known in America. He was not used to the long hours of making a TV show. At first, he found it hard to get along with the other actors, but they soon became close friends.
The show was a huge success and made Stewart famous and wealthy. He played Picard from 1987 to 1994 on TV and in four movies. He later said that Star Trek: The Next Generation was the highlight of his career because "it changed everything."
On 4 August 2018, it was announced that Stewart would play Jean-Luc Picard again in a new series, Star Trek: Picard, which he did from 2020 to 2023.
The X-Men Movies
After Star Trek, it was hard for Stewart to get other roles because everyone saw him as Captain Picard. However, he was offered the role of Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies. Professor X was the wise leader of a team of superheroes.
He was happy to work with director Bryan Singer and his friend Ian McKellen, who played the villain Magneto. Stewart played Professor X in seven movies between 2000 and 2017. In 2022, he played the character again in the movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Other Roles and Voice Work
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Stewart has had many other roles in film and television. He played Ebenezer Scrooge in a 1999 TV movie of A Christmas Carol and appeared in comedies like Frasier and Extras.
He is also a talented voice actor. He has lent his voice to animated movies like The Prince of Egypt, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and Chicken Little. He is also the voice of Avery Bullock in the animated series American Dad! and has appeared on Family Guy.
Return to the Theatre
Even while he was a movie star, Stewart missed performing on stage. He began writing and performing one-man shows. His most famous one is a version of A Christmas Carol where he plays more than 40 characters. He has performed it all over the world.
He has also continued to act in Shakespeare plays. He played Othello in Washington, D.C., and Macbeth and King Claudius in Hamlet in London. For his role in Hamlet, he won his second Laurence Olivier Award.
In 2009, he starred with his friend Ian McKellen in the play Waiting for Godot. They had become good friends while filming the X-Men movies.
Awards and Honors
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Patrick Stewart has received many honors for his work.
- In 1996, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In 2001, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
- In 2010, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama.
- From 2004 to 2015, he was the Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield. A building at the university is now named the "Sir Patrick Stewart Building."
- He held the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero for his role as Professor X.
Charity Work
Because of his difficult childhood, Stewart works with charities that help victims of domestic violence. He is a patron of Refuge, a charity in the UK for abused women. He has spoken publicly about his experiences to raise awareness.
He also supports charities for military veterans, like Combat Stress. He learned that his father suffered from PTSD from his time in the war and wants to help others with the same condition.
Stewart is also a big supporter of animal rights, especially for pit bull dogs. He has fostered several dogs and works with the ASPCA.
Personal Life
Stewart has been married three times. He has two children, Daniel and Sophia, from his first marriage. His son Daniel is also an actor and has appeared in a movie and a TV show with his father. Since 2013, Stewart has been married to American singer and songwriter Sunny Ozell.
Stewart is a member of the Labour Party in the UK. He is also an atheist and a patron of Humanists UK.
He is a lifelong fan of his hometown football club, Huddersfield Town. He is also a car enthusiast and enjoys watching the British Grand Prix race.
Images for kids
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Stewart with actors Ian McKellen and Billy Crudup at a press event in 2013 for the plays Waiting for Godot and No Man's Land.
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Stewart at the 2012 Peabody Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Patrick Stewart para niños
