Photos show Patrick Stewart's legendary career, from Shakespeare to 'Star Trek'

Patrick Stewart in 2018. Jack Taylor/Getty Images

Any actor will tell you that they'd be lucky to play a character long enough — and iconic enough — to become beloved by generations of fans worldwide.

Patrick Stewart had two.

The acting legend, who died on October 28, 2026, at the age of 86, played Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of the USS Enterprise in the "Star Trek" franchise, for 36 years. He played the character from the premiere of " Star Trek: The Next Generation " in 1987 through three seasons of " Star Trek: Picard, " which concluded in 2023.

Of course, that's not the only character Stewart will be remembered for.

In 2000, Stewart was cast as Professor Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, the kind, yet complicated, telepathic leader of the X-Men . He went on to play Xavier eight more times in the X-Men series.…