10 of the Most Iconic Patrick Stewart Roles Beyond Captain Picard
The Alpha Quadrant has lost one of its brightest stars.
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Sir Patrick Stewart, an actor equally at home onstage at the Royal Shakespeare Company and on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, has died at the age of 86. Unexpectedly for most of us, in part because he kept his final illness private, but more so because it once seemed as though nothing could fell the man who looms so large in our cultural consciousness.
The thoughtful, erudite performer who had a troubled childhood in working-class Yorkshire; the committed socialist who was eventually knighted by Queen Elizabeth; the advocate who put his money and his considerable voice toward the fights for LGBTQ+ acceptance and animal welfare and against domestic violence, his presence and performances meant the world (the galaxy, even) to myself and so many others. But those who knew him personally can offer better tributes; perhaps it's best left to Shakespeare's Player King, performed by Stewart himself opposite David Warner's Hamlet back in 1965:
Where joy most revels, grief doth most lament;Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident.
Much of Stewart's finest work was on the stage; other performances remain rather shockingly hard to come by (whither I, Claudius?). Nonetheless, he left a true legacy behind him, well beyond Captain Picard and Professor X. Here are 10 of his most iconic other roles.
Jeffrey (1995)
A goofy, feel-good gay rom-com with the HIV/AIDS crisis still very much in the foreground, Jeffrey was a near-impossibility in the mid-1990s: a movie that neither villainized its queers nor treated them as pitiable martyrs. Steven Weber and Michael T. Weiss are the leads, joined by a cast that includes Christine Baranski, Victor Garber, Nathan Lane, Olympia Dukakis, and Sigourney Weaver but, for all those names, Stewart is the undeniable standout as Sterling, the irrepressible gay best friend: a swishing, mincing, sassy, high-camp character who steals every scene without ever becoming a caricature. He's the leader of the "Pink Panthers," a squad of queers who defend locals from gay bashers, and that is the key to the character's power: He's as gay as they come, but not ashamed and not even a little weak. This movie, and the presence of Captain Picard himself in it, might have saved my life back in 1995. Stream Jeffrey on Prime Video, Tubi, and The Roku Channel.
Excalibur (1981)
A sprawling, epic, and appropriately lusty take on the King Arthur stories from John Boorman, Excalibur is a mixed bag full of stunning visuals and iconic moments that never quite coalesce into something entirely coherent. Standing out among the film's many characters, Stewart is entirely memorable as Leodegrance, the boisterous, boorish, but ultimately faithful father of Guenevere who is among the first to pledge his loyalty to Arthur. Rent Excalibur from Prime Video.
Green Room (2015)
Darcy Banker is erudite and intellectual, in his way, and even capable of charm, but otherwise has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It's bad enough for the punk band Ain’t Rights that they've booked a last-minute gig at an Oregon bar without realizing that it's a haven for white supremacists. It's even worse when they witness a murder and become trapped in the title's green room, with Stewart as the lead skinhead. He's quite simply one of the all-time great (meaning absolutely terrifying) villains in this thriller that's pretty much a horror movie. Stream Green Room on Netflix.
Logan (2017)
Patrick Stewart's role as Professor Xavier in the X-Men is almost as pop-culture iconic as that of Captain Picard, spanning 26 years and nine movies, including the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday. In most of those, he looks like he's having an awful lot of fun, but he gives his finest performance in the role in this elegaic installment, playing a dying Professor in profound cognitive decline, his dream in tatters and his bravado worn down to prickly dependence. We rarely get to see our superheroes at the ends of their days, and there's a lovely bravery to this depiction of the Charles' journey. Logan will likely be the toughest of his films to rewatch in the coming days. Stream Logan on Disney+.
A Christmas Carol (1999)
This stagey television movie isn't the most sumptuous of the many filmed versions of the Dickens story, but you won't be surprised to learn that there are few better portrayals of Ebenezer Scrooge. It's rather a shame that Patrick Stewart didn't do more Dickens adaptations, since his booming voice and ability to play thoroughly heightened characters without ever resorting to caricature is as valuable as in Shakespeare. Rent A Christmas Carol from Prime Video.
Hamlet (2009)
Famously referred to as that "unknown British Shakespearean actor" when starting out on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stewart was an associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company for twenty years before his most famous role came along. As is the way of live theater, much of his career lives on as an essential link in the chain of Shakespeare performances in the twentieth century...but not in a way that we can conveniently stream. We do, however, have this impressively mounted modern-dress stage production, in which Stewart plays King Claudius with characteristic brilliance against David Tennant's melancholy prince. Buy Hamlet from Prime Video and Apple TV.
Match (2014)
As a cinematic actor, Stewart's greatest strength was bringing humanity to larger-than-life, even operatic roles, whether they be Arthurian knights, Dickensian villains, or superheroes. That ability is an absolute necessity if one is going to have any success doing Shakespeare, as Stewart did for decades. Match is something rather different, though, and it's rather lovely to see him play something just a bit more mundane—even if the film's Tobi Powell is a choreographer with a nearly legendary reputation. Teaching at Juilliard School, with his career winding down, he's confronted with the living embodiment of the past he left behind to pursue his career. The ensuing relationships grow more complex, with the film building to a climax that's surprising and deeply devastating, made all the more so by Stewart's muted, subtle performance. Stream Match on AMC+.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
This is not the greatest Mel Brooks movie, not by a long shot, but it is a great comedic performance from Patrick Stewart. He loved to recount, with self-effacing embarrassment, the story of having shouted "We are not here to have fun" at his co-workers during a rowdy day on set at Star Trek: The Next Generation. By 1993, he was clearly past any such pomposity, and clearly having fun in his cameo as King Richard, a memorably silly take on a character he might well have played with seriousness elsewhere. Rent Robin Hood: Men in Tights from Prime Video.
Dune (1984)
Stewart's first real foray into science fiction was in this big, bold, divisive, and thoroughly bonkers Frank Herbert adaptation from director David Lynch. Stewart plays troubadour and warrior Gurney Halleck, and does what he does best: bringing gravitas and believability (and it must be said, bald sexiness) to even the wildest material. Stream Dune on Tubi.
The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
Stewart plays an aged Merlin in this rather shockingly good modern reimagining of the King Arthur legendarium. His Merlin is all wild hair and rock band T-shirts, possessed of an essential kindness that makes him a valued mentor, and one deserving of his character's poignant farewell at the film's conclusion.Stream The Kid Who Would Be King on Disney+ and Prime Video.
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