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His father was a career soldier and his mother worked in industrial weaving. -
Patrick Stewart was born in Muirfield, Yorkshire, on July 13, 1940. -
He spent much of his childhood in a poor household in Mirfield, where he experienced domestic violence at the hands of his father.[ -
After graduating from the respected Bristol Old Vic theatre school, Patrick's professional stage career, which now spans nearly 40 years, began in 1959 with the role of Morgan in "Treasure Island" at Lincoln Theatre Royal. -
At the age of 15, he left school and increased his participation in local theatre. He supported himself with work as a newspaper reporter and obituary writer for the local newspaper,[15] but quit after one year when his boss gave him an ultimatum to choose acting or journalism. -
Stewart and Blessed later received grants to attend the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Stewart was the first person who was neither a graduate of Oxford nor Cambridge to receive a grant from West Riding Council. -
Patrick made his debut in a leading American classic role as the embittered 'George' in Edward Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' at the Young Vic in London in 1986. Stewart was chosen at the last minute for the role by Billie Whitelaw - who played Martha, and director David Thacker. -
Outside of his work in theater, Stewart is best known for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series and films, from 1987 - 2002. He also plays Professor Charles Xavier in The X-Men franchise. -
He wrote and performed in a one-man adaptation of A Christmas Carol, performing on Broadway throughout the 1990s. In 2005, he brought the production to the Noel Coward Theatre, and you can read a review of A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart here. In the 2000s, Stewart returned to the West End in a run of Shakespeare productions, playing Prospero in The Tempest in 2006 -
Beginning in 1991 and continuing until 1996 at venues in California, on Broadway and also in London, the performances received critical acclaim and recognition from the Drama Desk and Olivier Awards. During the performance on a bare stage Stewart used minimal props to portray over 35 characters from the book! -
After the end of the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' television series, Patrick was keen to return to his theatre roots and to Shakespeare. Now based in America, he began with the role of Prospero in George C. Wolfe's 'The Tempest' as part of the New York Shakespeare Festival for 1995. -
in 1966 Patrick joined the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon, and within a year was made an Associate Artist. -
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996 -
In 1997, Stewart received critical notice for his portrayal in the title role of Othello at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC. Jude Kelly directed Stewart along with an otherwise all-Black cast in a 'photo-negative production' which took a bold, new look at the play. -
Patrick Stewart did this production too -
The production ran from November 11th 1997 to January 4th 1998 and generated unprecedented advanced bookings ensuring that the run was sold out months before it's opening.
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In Summer 2000, Stewart appeared on Broadway in Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan which received a Tony nomination for Best Play. -
In early 2001, Stewart appeared in the Guthrie Theater's (Minneapolis) critically acclaimed production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? -
That year also saw him appear with the RSC in Antony and Cleopatra at the Novello Theatre, and playing the title role in Macbeth at the Gielgud Theatre. Read a review for Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart here. In 2008, he starred alongside David Tennant in Hamlet, winning an Olivier for playing Claudius. All the Shakespeare plays in Stewart's career definitely helped him portray the Bard in Bingo at the Young Vic in 2012, and you can read a review here. -
Stewart and his X-Men co-star Sir Ian McKellen appeared together in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2009. Seven years later, they returned to the West End together, starring in No Man's Land at the Wyndham's Theatre. -
He is called Sir Patrick Stewart because the Queen of England knighted him for his contribution to the art of the theatre.