Top 10 Patrick Stewart Performances

Like his frequent collaborator Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart is first and foremost a Shakespearean actor, and has performed in a variety of film and TV productions of The Bard’s work throughout his career. Amongst his interpretations of characters, such as Macbeth, John of Gaunt and King Lear, one of his earliest as the treacherous King Claudius in Hamlet still stands as one of his best. Opposite Derek Jacobi in the title role, Stewart’s performance as one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains was so iconic, he later reprised the role in a 2009 adaptation starring David Tennant as Hamlet.

Ricky Gervais’ award-winning British sitcom about the life of background performers is well-known for its use of celebrity guest appearances, as main characters Andy and Maggie find themselves encountering larger-than-life versions of famous film and television stars. In the first series finale, Andy seizes an opportunity to get Patrick Stewart to pass on his pilot script, at which point the venerable performer pitches his own obscene screenplay about a superhero with the power to undress women. Stewart plays the whole absurd scene with absolute sincerity, and whilst he agrees to pass on Andy’s script he also drops on him the mother of all Star Trek-related insults.

Charles Dickens’ holiday-centric ghost story is now an intrinsic part of the Christmas experience and many actors, from Albert Finney to Jim Carrey, have portrayed the central role of Ebenezer Scrooge for over a hundred years. Stewart’s interpretation of the miserable money-lender in this 1999 TV movie retains much of Dickens’ words, but he brings a more unique and subdued bitterness to the character, which only makes his transformation at the end that much more joyous. Scrooge may be a role audiences have seen dozens of times before, but Stewart manages to make it his own.

For the 2005 English dub of this Hayao Miyazaki classic, alongside the likes of Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill and Shia LaBoeuf, Patrick Stewart is cast as the noble Lord Yupa. As swordmaster to the titular princess’ valley kingdom, Yupa is a fierce warrior and a vital ally to Nausicaa on her quest to save her post-apocalyptic world from more destruction. Combined with Miyazaki’s superb animation and designs, Stewart’s distinctive voice perfectly complements the classic mentor role Yupa serves, which only gives the absurdly mustachioed character even more credibility.

In this hilarious Mel Brooks parody of the legend of Robin Hood, Stewart makes a memorable cameo just as audiences would expect the tale to come to a close. Arriving back from the Crusades, one might initially believe King Richard would be mad at Robin and his Merry Men for overthrowing his brother Prince John. Instead, he officially sanctions Robin’s marriage to Maid Marian before sentencing his brother to the Tower of London, whilst also explaining the origin of a certain bathroom object’s nickname. In an otherwise ridiculous send-up, Stewart’s deadpan performance adds both a little class and some sly humour to what could easily be a throwaway role.

Nabbing yet another role every actor of his calibre wants to play, Stewart took on the obsessed whale hunter in this 1998 TV miniseries adaptation of the Herman Melville classic. Having already dabbled with Melville’s haunting words in his role in “Star Trek: First Contact”, Stewart easily slips into the part of Ahab and brings exactly the kind of commanding and crazed performance you’d hope for. Though parts of the series are dated now, Stewart’s performance still stands up, which is especially impressive as he stars alongside Gregory Peck, in his final performance before his death, who previously played Ahab in the 1956 John Huston film of Moby Dick.

Though Stewart may be a classically trained actor, he clearly doesn’t take himself too seriously, and his frequent collaborations with Seth MacFarlane are a prime example of that. Along with various guest parts on Family Guy and voicing the narrator in the Ted films, his recurring role as CIA Deputy Director Avery Bullock on “American Dad!” shows a different side to Stewart that only gets funnier when you consider his usual body of work. The show practically goes out of its way to put the character in bizarre and embarrassing situations, but Stewart plays it all with the utmost dignity. What are those years in the Royal Shakespeare Company for anyway if you’re not singing Oingo Boingo in a girl’s dressing gown?

Patrick Stewart has played several villainous roles before, but none quite so eerily threatening as his role in this 2015 indie thriller. As the leader of a group of Neo-Nazis holding a band hostage in their backwoods club, Stewart’s Darcy is a mostly looming presence as he orchestrates the blisteringly bloody carnage from a distance. Though the character isn’t obviously anarchic by his appearance, the usually friendly actor’s mere presence in this sinister role and a lack of overt villainy makes the whole viewing experience that much more unnerving to sit through.

Where would this list be without the role that made him a star? Patrick Stewart may have been known beforehand within the geek community for his roles in Excalibur and Dune, but it was the revival of Gene Roddenberry’s landmark sci-fi show with “Star Trek: The Next Generation” that made him a household name. Fans to this day debate whether Stewart’s Captain Picard is superior to William Shatner’s Captain Kirk, but there’s no denying both are supreme badasses. Stewart continued to play the role through all four Next Gen movies and a guest spot on “Deep Space Nine”, and he still regularly reprises the role for shows like “Family Guy” and “Robot Chicken”.

Though “Star Trek” shot Stewart to worldwide recognition, it simultaneously typecast him and he struggled to find other roles during his seven-year tenure on the show. Luckily, a shot at another franchise saved him from obscurity. His role as Charles Xavier played to Stewart’s strengths as a wise leadership figure, which has led him to play the character in seven films as well as numerous video games. His tragic and beleaguered interpretation of Xavier in 2017’s Logan is not only widely seen as Stewart’s best performance as the mind-reading schoolteacher, but so touching a swansong that Stewart decided to retire from the franchise…unless Deadpool or Legion come calling, that is.