British actor Sir Patrick Stewart, known worldwide as Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and as Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” films, has died at 86. Agerpres and international wires report that he died on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, at his home in Los Angeles after “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, according to a statement from spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak.

Stewart was born on 13 July 1940 in Mirfield, Yorkshire. He grew up in poverty and later spoke of a father scarred by war, alcoholism and domestic violence. Acting became a “safe space” after a teacher introduced him to Shakespeare at 12. He took to the stage at 18 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s, building a classical reputation long before screen fame.

At 47 he accepted the role of Captain Picard, even though friend Ian McKellen urged him to stay in theatre. The cerebral, disciplined captain — a foil to adventurer Kirk — defined seven TV seasons and returned in films and the series “Picard”. Stewart said that across TNG the line between himself and Picard grew thinner; “Make it so” and “Engage” entered popular culture.

In the “X-Men” franchise he played Charles Xavier, the telepathic leader of the mutants. He hesitated at first, wary of another science-fiction run, then agreed after being promised a different register. The part widened his audience beyond Star Trek fans. In 2010 Queen Elizabeth II knighted him. He married three times and had two children; since 2013 he was married to musician Sunny Ozell.

Tributes came quickly from stage and sci-fi circles. Ian McKellen called him a man to rely on, to admire and, in his case, to love; William Shatner said Stewart “stood for the best of us”. The Royal Shakespeare Company called him a “colossus”, and fans gathered at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star. His death marks the loss of an actor who bridged Shakespearean craft and twenty-first-century mass culture.

Image: Patrick Stewart (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0).

Sources consulted: Actor Patrick Stewart dies at 86 - AGERPRES; Patrick Stewart dies aged 86 - The Guardian.