Star Trek Changed Everything

At the age of 46, Stewart was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role that transformed the respected British stage actor into an international celebrity.

The series ran for seven seasons and Stewart reprised the role of Picard in four feature films before returning to the character decades later for the TV series Star Trek: Picard from 2020 to 2023.

His Shakespearean training helped shape Picard into a cerebral, authoritative leader, rather than a conventional action hero.