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From Shakespearean schemers to sci-fi icons, Sir Patrick Stewart delivered a lifetime of unforgettable performances that showcased his command, charisma, and range. Join us as we celebrate his most legendary roles across stage, screen, animation, and beyond, from wicked villains and witty cameos to the characters that made him a true acting titan. Which performance stands above the rest?
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're recounting Sir Patrick Stewart's most legendary performances across his storied career.
00:07We will always remember him not only for his unmatched command of stage and screen, but for a lifetime of
00:13grace, gravitas, and humanitarianism.
00:24Number 10. King Claudius, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
00:30Like his frequent collaborator Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart was first and foremost a Shakespearean actor,
00:36and performed in a variety of film and TV productions of the Bard's work throughout his career.
00:40Among his interpretations of characters, such as Macbeth, John of Gaunt, and King Lear,
00:45one of his earliest as the treacherous King Claudius in Hamlet still stands as one of his best.
00:51There is no shuffling there, the action lies in his true nature,
00:55and we ourselves compelled even in the teeth and forehead of our faults to give in evidence.
01:00What then?
01:03What rests?
01:05Opposite Derek Jacoby in the title role, Stewart's performance as one of Shakespeare's greatest villains was so iconic,
01:11he later reprised the role in a 2009 adaptation starring David Tennant as Hamlet.
01:16My lord, I'll hit him now.
01:18I do not think.
01:22Number 9. Patrick Stewart, Extras.
01:25And I do other stuff, like I go to the World Cup final, and it's Germany versus England,
01:31and I wish that I were playing, and suddenly I am, and I score the winning goal,
01:35and they carry me into the dressing room, and there's Rooney and Beckham, and then Posh Spice walks in, and...
01:40And plays full off?
01:41Instantly.
01:41Ricky Gervais' award-winning British sitcom about the life of background performers is well-known for its use of celebrity
01:47guest appearances,
01:48as main characters Andy and Maggie find themselves encountering larger-than-life versions of famous film and television stars.
01:54In the first series finale, Andy seizes an opportunity to get Patrick Stewart to pass on his pilot script,
02:00at which point the venerable performer pitches his own obscene screenplay about a superhero with the power to undress women.
02:07Just women.
02:09Right.
02:10I need to rewrite, but in the meantime, if you could give it to anyone that you know in TV
02:14or...
02:15Yes, definitely. I will make it so.
02:17Stewart played the whole absurd scene with absolute sincerity,
02:20and while he agrees to pass on Andy's script, he also drops on him the mother of all Star Trek
02:27-related insults.
02:28You're not married, you haven't got a girlfriend, and you've never watched Star Trek?
02:33No.
02:35Good Lord.
02:37Number 8. Ebenezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol
02:42Indigestion.
02:45Charles Dickens' holiday-centric ghost story is now an intrinsic part of the Christmas experience,
02:50and many actors, from Albert Finney to Jim Carrey,
02:53have portrayed the central role of Ebenezer Scrooge for over a hundred years.
02:58Stewart's interpretation of the miserable moneylender in this 1999 TV movie retains much of Dickens' words,
03:04but he brought a more unique and subdued bitterness to the character.
03:09Jacob.
03:12Jacob Marley.
03:13Speak comfort to me, Jacob.
03:16I have none to give.
03:17Which only makes his transformation at the end that much more joyous.
03:21Scrooge may be a role audiences have seen dozens of times before,
03:25but Stewart managed to make it his own.
03:28A merry Christmas that I have wished you in many.
03:34I'd like to help your family.
03:37Number 7. Lord Yuppa, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
03:54For the 2005 English dub of this Hayao Miyazaki classic,
03:59alongside the likes of Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, and Shia LaBeouf,
04:02Patrick Stewart was cast as the noble Lord Yuppa.
04:05As swordmaster to the titular princess's valley kingdom,
04:08Yuppa is a fierce warrior,
04:10and a vital ally to Nausicaa on her quest to save her post-apocalyptic world from more destruction.
04:15Apparently one has lain dormant deep underground for the past 1,000 years.
04:20If they unearthed it in Pegite, what was it doing on a Tolmecan ship?
04:26Tolmecate is far to the west, and its rulers are very warlike.
04:29That they had a Pegite hostage on board worries me.
04:34Combined with Miyazaki's superb animation and designs,
04:37Stewart's distinctive voice perfectly complements the classic mentor role Yuppa serves,
04:42which only gives the absurdly mustachioed character even more credibility.
04:47Look, the color's changing. Their rage is subsiding.
04:55Number 6. King Richard, Robin Hood, Men in Tights
05:05In this hilarious Mel Brooks parody of The Legend of Robin Hood,
05:09Stewart made a memorable cameo just as audiences would expect the tale to come to a close.
05:14Arriving back from the Crusades,
05:16one might initially believe King Richard would be mad at Robin and his merry men
05:20for overthrowing his brother Prince John.
05:22Instead, he officially sanctions Robin's marriage to Maid Marian
05:26before sentencing his brother to the Tower of London,
05:29while also explaining the origin of a certain bathroom object's nickname.
05:33From this day forth,
05:35all the toilets in this kingdom
05:37shall be known as...
05:41John's.
05:43In an otherwise ridiculous send-up,
05:45Stewart's deadpan performance added both a little class
05:48and some sly humor to what could easily be a throwaway role.
05:52England owes you and your men a great debt of gratitude.
05:55Henceforth,
05:57all your family's rights and land shall be returned
05:59and you shall rule all Sherwood from this day forth.
06:04Number 5. Captain Ahab, Moby Dick
06:07See that?
06:09See that, men?
06:17Hand me your top ball, Mr. Carpenter.
06:19Sir, one good strong iron nail.
06:23Nabbing yet another role every actor of his caliber wants to play,
06:27Stewart took on the obsessed whale hunter
06:28in this 1998 TV miniseries adaptation of the Herman Melville classic.
06:33Having already dabbled with Melville's haunting words
06:35in his role in Star Trek First Contact,
06:37Stewart easily slipped into the part of Ahab
06:39and brought exactly the kind of commanding and crazed performance you would hope for.
06:44Time was when the moonlight soothed me.
06:49No more.
06:52This lovely light lights not me.
06:57Though parts of the series are dated now,
07:01Stewart's performance still stands up,
07:03which is especially impressive as he stars alongside Gregory Peck
07:06in his final performance before his death,
07:09who had previously played Ahab in the 1956 John Huston film of Moby Dick.
07:14Number 4. Avery Bullock, American Dad
07:17Hello, Deputy Director Bullock.
07:19You're looking well.
07:21Sir, you remember Haley, my son's sister?
07:25Of course.
07:26I'm surprised they let you through security.
07:28I guess those scanners can't detect half-baked political ideology?
07:33Though Stewart was a classically trained actor,
07:36he never took himself too seriously,
07:38and his frequent collaborations with Seth MacFarlane are a prime example of that.
07:42Along with various guest parts on Family Guy and voicing the narrator in the TED films,
07:47his recurring role as CIA Deputy Director Avery Bullock on American Dad showed a different side
07:52to Stewart that only gets funnier when you consider his usual body of work.
07:56You think cocaine is a problem, but I've done it for 32 years.
08:01See, I am part of a group of responsible cocaine users.
08:05We adhere to strict rules to ensure things don't get out of control.
08:09Rules, sir?
08:10It's not used to feel good.
08:12Not for base pleasure, certainly.
08:15It's a medicine to improve our lives, like penicillin or opium.
08:19The show practically goes out of its way to put the character in bizarre and embarrassing situations,
08:24but Stewart played it all with the utmost dignity.
08:27What are those years in the Royal Shakespeare Company 4 anyway
08:30if you're not singing Oingo Boingo in a Girl's Dressing Room?
08:33I, I, I love little girls.
08:36They make me feel so good.
08:38I love little girls.
08:40They make me feel so bad.
08:42When they're around, they make me feel like I'm the only guy in town.
08:46I love little girls.
08:49Oh, good morning.
08:50Number three, Darcy, Green Room.
08:53Two.
08:55All right.
08:56Let's give them some room to work, folks.
08:59You the owner?
09:00Yes, ma'am.
09:03Patrick Stewart had played several villainous roles before,
09:06but none quite so eerily threatening as his role in this 2015 indie thriller.
09:11As the leader of a group of neo-Nazis holding a band hostage in their backwoods club,
09:16Stewart's Darcy was a mostly looming presence
09:18as he orchestrated the blisteringly bloody carnage from a distance.
09:22From here on out, not a single name gets added unless they have red laces.
09:27There's 80 people in there.
09:28You?
09:29Plus four.
09:30Good game to keep him.
09:32In case we have to play ballet.
09:34Though the character isn't obviously anarchic by his appearance,
09:37the usually friendly actor's mere presence in this sinister role
09:40and a lack of overt villainy makes the whole viewing experience
09:44that much more unnerving to sit through.
09:46It's a nightmare.
09:49For us all.
09:52Tell me those stupid f***ing words are his last.
10:04Do you have a phone?
10:09Number two.
10:11Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the Star Trek franchise.
10:14Look, uh, history records that you died saving the Enterprise B from an energy ribbon.
10:2280 years ago.
10:25You say this is the 24th century?
10:27Uh-huh.
10:28Where would this list be without the role that made him a star?
10:32Patrick Stewart may have been known beforehand within the geek community for his roles in Excalibur and Dune,
10:37but it was the revival of Gene Roddenberry's landmark sci-fi show with Star Trek The Next Generation that made
10:43him a household name.
10:44The Cardassian vessel will not be boarded.
10:47You will transport yourself aboard the Enterprise.
10:50Picard.
10:52If you don't board that ship, I'll destroy it.
10:57And I will use whatever force is necessary to prevent you from taking that action, Captain.
11:02Fans to this day debate whether Stewart's Captain Picard is superior to William Shatner's Captain Kirk,
11:08but there's no denying both are supreme badasses.
11:11Stewart continued to play the role through all four next-gen movies and a guest spot on Deep Space Nine,
11:16and he regularly reprised the role for shows like Family Guy and Robot Chicken.
11:21Ahem.
11:222300 hours.
11:24Time for the night crew to relieve us.
11:27Number 1.
11:28Professor Charles Xavier.
11:30The X-Men franchise.
11:32Physics.
11:34I'm Charles Xavier.
11:36Would you like some breakfast?
11:38Though Star Trek shot Stewart to worldwide recognition,
11:41it simultaneously typecast him,
11:43and he struggled to find other roles during his seven-year tenure on the show.
11:47Luckily, a shot at another franchise saved him from obscurity.
11:51His role as Charles Xavier played to Stewart's strengths as a wise leadership figure,
11:56which has led him to play the character in seven films as well as numerous video games.
12:01Well, I had a promise to keep.
12:05His tragic and beleaguered interpretation of Xavier in 2017's Logan
12:09is not only widely seen as Stewart's best performance as the mind-reading schoolteacher,
12:14but so touching a swan song that Stewart decided to retire from the franchise.
12:18Unless Deadpool or Legion come calling, that is.
12:21And I bet you will.
12:23Which of Sir Patrick Stewart's performances is your all-time favorite?
12:26Let us know in the comments.
12:31Let us know in the comments.