British actor Patrick Stewart, best known for playing Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 86, according to a report.
"We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia," Kelly Bush Novak, longtime spokesperson for Stewart, said in a statement Thursday on Instagram.
Born on July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England, Stewart overcame a difficult childhood to become a celebrated Shakespearean actor before achieving international fame in middle age, The New York Times reported.
According to the daily, he debuted as Picard in 1987 in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," which ran for seven seasons and won 18 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award.
His character became known for the commands "Engage!" and "Make it so." Stewart later reprised the role in four feature films and the television series "Star Trek: Picard," which ran for three seasons from 2020.
Beyond "Star Trek," Stewart played Gurney Halleck in David Lynch's 1984 film "Dune" and Professor Charles Xavier in five "X-Men" films, including "Logan" (2017). Several of the films featured his close friend Ian McKellen.
Before his Hollywood success, Stewart had established himself as a leading British stage actor, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. He won Olivier Awards for his performances in "Antony and Cleopatra" (1979) and "Hamlet" (2009), and received the London Fringe Theatre the best actor award in 1986 for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Despite criticism from some theater colleagues over his move to Hollywood, Stewart defended his work in popular entertainment.
"They used to ask me 'Why, why, why?' as if I was somehow slumming it," he told The Independent in 2003.
"What snobbery!" he said, adding: "For huge numbers of people, I will always be Jean-Luc Picard, and that's fine. I really believe we created an admirable individual."
Stewart was the youngest of three sons born to Alfred Stewart, a British Army regimental sergeant major, and Gladys (Barrowclough) Stewart, a textile factory worker. Known for his commanding baritone voice, he built a career spanning classical theater and major science-fiction franchises, earning acclaim across generations.
