Patrick Stewart, the actor best known for playing Professor Charles Xavier in the X Men films, has passed away at the age of 86 years. Stewart’s longtime representative Kelly Bush Novak revealed the news with a statement that cited the actor's “brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.” The actor was surrounded by friends and family at the time. 

A longtime Royal Shakespeare Company member, Patrick Stewart brought the sense of refinement and elegance in his speech from his theatre background to his onscreen performances. Besides Professor Charles Xavier, he is most popular for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek franchise. His other well-known credits include Gurney Halleck in director David Lynch's Dune and King Richard in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. In 2015, Stewart broke away from his conventional hero roles for a cold-blooded club owner in the thriller Green Room. 

The actor also brought his deep voice, command over diction, and/or commanding screen presence to several television characters, such as Roman commander Sejanus in I, Claudius, CIA officer Avery Bullock in American Dad!, Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (1999), and Captain Ahab in Moby Dick (1998). 

Before becoming a pop-culture phenomenon, Stewart spent decades starring in Shakespeare productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The actor has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, a Grammy Award, and multiple Saturn Awards, as well as having Emmy, Golden Globe, Tony, and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations. In 2009, he received knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to British theatre, television, and film.

While his characters have an air of sophistication about them, in real life, Patrick Stewart was known for his down-to-earth personality, as well as his British humour that subverted his serious image.