13 Jul 1940
Mirfield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Birth in Mirfield
Patrick Hewes Stewart is born into a working-class family: his father a career soldier, his mother a weaver. His childhood is marked by the domestic violence suffered by his mother, a cause he would later champion publicly.
1955
Mirfield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Leaves school at 15, local reporter
He left school and became a journalist at the Mirfield & District Reporter. His employer asked him to choose between journalism and amateur theater. He chose the stage.
1957 - 1959
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, 2 Downside Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2XF, United Kingdom
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Drama training thanks to a West Riding Council scholarship. A first step towards classical theatre, far from the mills of his native Yorkshire.
1966 - 1982
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BB, United Kingdom
Joins the Royal Shakespeare Company
He joined the RSC (first appearing in The Investigation) and remained there for sixteen years, until 1982. This was the foundation for everything else: the voice, the verse, the stage presence.
January 1967
Granada Studios, Quay Street, Manchester M60 9EA, United Kingdom
First TV role in Coronation Street
Appearance as a firefighter in the flagship British television soap opera. A tiny role, but a first foot in the door of the small screen. The soap has been filmed at MediaCityUK since 2013.
1971
Nederlander Theatre (formerly Billy Rose Theatre), 208 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036, United States
Broadway debut in Peter Brook's A Midsummer Night's Dream
He plays Snout in Peter Brook's legendary RSC production. His first time crossing the Atlantic, long before America knew how to pronounce his name.
September 1976
BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 7RJ, United Kingdom
Sejanus in I, Claudius (BBC)
He portrays Sejanus in the BBC's cult mini-series. His first major television role, and a foreshadowing of his penchant for soft-spoken men of power.
1979
Aldwych Theatre, 49 Aldwych, London WC2B 4DF, United Kingdom
Olivier Award for Antony and Cleopatra
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Antony and Cleopatra in the West End. The crowning achievement of a stage actor whom almost no one knows yet outside of Great Britain.
1987
UCLA, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
Spotted at UCLA for Star Trek
Robert H. Justman, producer of the new Star Trek series, sees him during a literary reading at UCLA. A British Shakespearean actor unknown in the United States, in the role of a starship captain: the gamble looks like a casting error. He will change everything.
28 Sept 1987 - 23 May 1994
Paramount Pictures, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038, United States
Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation
Seven seasons in the captain's chair of the Enterprise-D, followed by the films Generations (1994), First Contact (1996), Insurrection (1998), and Nemesis (2002). The role that brought him worldwide fame, and which he himself would say changed his career.
18 Nov 1996
Mann's Chinese Theatre (now TCL Chinese Theatre), 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Star Trek: First Contact, Picard vs. the Borg
Premiere in Los Angeles, four days before the U.S. release on November 22. Picard faces the Borg: one of the most highly regarded films in the saga, an opinion Stewart himself shared.
16 Dec 1996
Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
A star for the Shakespearean turned starship captain. Hollywood honors an actor it didn't know ten years earlier.
14 Jul 2000
Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto, ON M5R 1X8, Canada
Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men
Release of the first X-Men: he portrays Professor X alongside Ian McKellen, his future friend. A second global franchise for a man who, on paper, should not have had any. The role continues until Logan (2017).
2004 - 2015
University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, United Kingdom
Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield
Eleven years of chancellorship at the university of his hometown, where he was committed to ensuring young people had access to higher education. He remained Chancellor Emeritus, and a building dedicated to drama bears his name.
2006
Amnesty International UK, Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA, United Kingdom
Speaking out against domestic violence
He filmed a short video for Amnesty International, speaking about his father's violence towards his mother. He later became a patron of the charity Refuge, which supports women and children victims, and also supported Combat Stress for veterans. He said he worked for Refuge for his mother and for Combat Stress for his father.
22 May 2006
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
X-Men: The Last Stand, Xavier's first death
Screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival before its US release on May 26. Xavier is killed by Jean Grey, who has become Phoenix. An uneven film, but it marks the first time the character disappears. It won't be the last.
2008
Novello Theatre, Aldwych, London WC2B 4LD, United Kingdom
Claudius in Hamlet opposite David Tennant
Claudius in the RSC's Hamlet starring David Tennant, transferred to the West End. He won a second Olivier Award there (2009). Proof that Hollywood never kept him away from the stage.
2 Jun 2010
Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA, United Kingdom
Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
Knighted for services to drama, following an OBE received around 2001. A fifty-year career, sixteen years at the RSC. The boy from Mirfield becomes Sir Patrick.
10 May 2014
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 429 11th Avenue, New York, NY 10001, United States
X-Men: Days of Future Past, facing his younger self
World premiere at the Javits Center, ahead of the May 23 U.S. release. His Xavier shares a scene with James McAvoy's: the passing of the torch between two versions of the same man, in one of the two best-received films of the saga along with Logan.
17 Feb 2017
Berlinale Palast, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Logan, a first farewell to Charles Xavier
Premiere of Logan at the Berlinale. Xavier is depicted as old, fragile, and tormented, and he dies: the film was intended as his farewell to the character. The darkest entry in the franchise, and the most acclaimed of his late roles.
17 Feb 2017
Berlinale Palast, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Logan: Farewell to Charles Xavier
Premiere of Logan at the Berlinale. Xavier is depicted as old, fragile, and tormented: the darkest film in the franchise, and the most acclaimed of his late roles.
January 2020 - January 2023
ArcLight Cinerama Dome, 6360 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Picard's Return in Star Trek: Picard
At 79, he reprises the role that made him famous for three seasons. A darker series that reflects on an aging man and his ghosts.
2 May 2022
Dolby Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, MCU debut
He appears at the world premiere, four days before the film's release. He plays a variant of Xavier, leader of Earth-838's Illuminati, marking his entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His third on-screen death.
3 Oct 2023
Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, United States
Publishes his memoirs, Making It So
Release of Making It So, his memoirs, a title that plays on Picard's signature catchphrase. He insisted on writing it himself, without a ghostwriter. A bestseller and a life's journey from Yorkshire to the stars.
28 Oct 2026
Los Angeles, California, United States
Death in Los Angeles
Sir Patrick Stewart dies at 86 at his home in Los Angeles, alongside his wife Sunny, following complications from Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. The death is announced the following day by his family. He was set to reappear as Professor Xavier in Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for December 2026.