Film
Patrick Stewart tributes pour in from Hollywood: McKellen calls him the most beloved actor of his generation
The British actor, Captain Picard of “Star Trek” and Professor X of “X-Men,” died at 86 at his home in Los Angeles. Colleagues remember him from the Shakespearean stage to the screen.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 30, 2026, 19:10 · Updated 19:02 · 2 min read
In brief
- Stewart died on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the care of his wife, Sunny Ozell, after Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.
- Ian McKellen, William Shatner, Judi Dench, George Takei and Hugh Jackman were among the first to pay tribute.
- He played Jean-Luc Picard in more than 170 episodes and had been part of the Royal Shakespeare Company since 1966.
Tributes to Sir Patrick Stewart continued on Friday from across the worlds of film and theater. The British actor, 86, died on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at his home in Los Angeles, in the care of his wife, Sunny Ozell, his family announced on Thursday. According to the statement, he had gone through “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.
“To love”
Sir Ian McKellen, his friend since their Royal Shakespeare Company days and his partner in the “X-Men” films, called him “the most respected and beloved actor of his generation.” “He wore his feelings openly, which made him someone you could rely on, admire and, in my case, love,” McKellen said. William Shatner wrote that Stewart brought “intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity” to every role and that “Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him.”
George Takei bid him farewell with the words “Rest in the heavens, Captain,” while Wil Wheaton, the show's Wesley Crusher, wrote simply: “Godspeed, Captain.” Dame Judi Dench said she was shocked, Hugh Jackman called him an extraordinary friend and man, and the official “Star Trek” account remembered him as “a captain unlike any other.” In Hollywood, fans left flowers on his star on the Walk of Fame.
From Shakespeare to the Enterprise
Born in 1940 in Mirfield, Yorkshire, Stewart joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and won two Olivier Awards. The world knew him as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” in more than 170 episodes between 1987 and 1994, a role he reprised in four films and in the series “Star Trek: Picard.” Younger generations knew him as Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” saga.
In 2010 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama. His last film role was once again Professor X, in “Avengers: Doomsday.”
