Discussion
RIP. What an actor.
I spent my teenage years watching ST:TNG every week with my mom. His Picard was, of course, as iconic as a iconic gets. Debate the different ST captains all you like, fine, sure, so many great characters, but Picard will always be •my• captain.
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https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/oct/29/patrick-stewart-dead
The second time I saw Patrick Stewart live was a production of Macbeth in Brooklyn. The set evoked bare, dirty concrete walls; the costumes were all vague mid-20th-century authoritarian military dress. The witches wheeled gurneys around, with bodies under sheets that would occasionally jerk and move in unison. It was harrowing — as Macbeth should be.
(They made a film version of that production, but it can’t match seeing it live.)
And Stewart? Well…
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There’s a scene where Macbeth is confronted by Banquo's ghost, and reacts in anger and horror. They ran that scene, then lights, a break — and then when the lights came up again, they ran the scene a •whole second time•, in its entirety…
…and there’s no ghost anymore, it’s just Macbeth raving and raging to no one as the crowd looks on, baffled, on stage it was Patrick Stewart talking to thin air…
…and that sort of thing is always a cute trick in theater, but it was no trick, I swear to god I felt that ghost still present in the room as keenly as Macbeth felt him. •That• is what kind of an actor Patrick Stewart was.
What a master of his craft. I wish him well on his way, with deepest respect and gratitude.
Thank you, Sir Patrick. Your hour upon the stage was a magnificent one.
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@inthehands I saw that Macbeth and have been thinking about it today too. Thanks for the wonderful description.
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I saw Patrick Stewart live twice.
The first time was in a production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?” at the Guthrie. The moment he stepped on stage, I reflexively thought “Hey! It’s Captain Picard!” …and then, not 2 seconds later, before he’d even spoken a word: “No, no, it’s not, it just…kinda looks like him.”
Just his gate, the way he held himself, he’d become a completely different person. I’d imprinted on Picard in my formative years, and Stewart’s acting was so damn good that it took 2 wordless seconds to wipe Picard from my mind.
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