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Science Fiction

Sir Patrick Stewart, RIP

Stewart's portrayal of Captain Jean Luc Picard was a great achievement, and epitomized the values of Star Trek.

Ilya Somin | 10.31.2026 5:24 PM

Patrick Stewart, as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. (CBS)

The great British actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, passed away yesterday. While Stewart began his career as a stage actor and performed in many Shakespeare plays, he is best known for his portrayal of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Thanks to his impressive performance, Stewart and the character he played became science fiction icons.

Stewart brought extraordinary depth and perception to the role. And the character is an interesting contrast to the more instinctive and aggressive, less cerebral, Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek Series. Perhaps more than any other character, Stewart's Picard epitomized Star Trek's progressive liberal values: Enlightenment rationalism, technological optimism (highlighted by his defense of the rights of the android Data), racial and ethnic equality, and commitment to peace and diplomacy.

In many ways, Picard and TNG promoted these ideas to an even greater extent than the........

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