I know I'm new here and therefore probably shouldn't burst through the doors like this, but hey. I've made it a goal of mine for 2020 to find more friends with similar interests, and what better way to accomplish this than by making a thread about my biggest hobby/interest? I figured I'd put this topic into this general Entertainment/TV/media forum because Sir Patrick has done a lot more than TNG/PIC. This is supposed to be primarily about him as an actor (and human being) than about Jean-Luc, TNG or the new series (although I realize there will be some overlapping content since the Picard series is his next big upcoming project). If the mods dislike the topic's presence here and would prefer for it to be somewhere Trek-related after all it'll be fine with me, of course. I just figured I'd put it somewhere separate. Anyways, so... anyone who knows me knows that I'm a HUGE fan of Sir Patrick Stewart, have been so for 16 years now. And out of those 16 years I've spent more than 12 years posting news about him, first on message boards, then also on social media. So I guess you could say I have some expertise, and I'll try to keep this topic as up-to-date as possible with news/pictures/whatever else there is. (If YOU have something to contribute, though, feel free to do so, I'd love to have some support!) So, what is Sir Patrick up to at the moment? He did two performances of his one-man-version of A Christmas Carol on Broadway earlier this month, and he posted pictures of it on his Instagram the other day. Here's one of the pics: His next tasks include a (possible) promo tour for the Picard series in mid-January and then (also possibly) shooting the second season of the show in spring/early summer. He has also said that he would like to play King Lear on stage in 2020 though, so we'll see if that actually happens as well. You never know with him, he's full of surprises. Anyways... as I said, since this isn't just supposed to be me talking about Sir Patrick, I would love to have other people contribute to this topic also. As for my viewpoint: He's a lovely/wonderful/kind/gracious man, and I simply adore him. (I'm totally not biased. lol)
If you want to extend your Patrick Stewart experience back in time a bit, I can reccomend a few things. He had a brief supporting role in the 1976 miniseries "I, Claudius." He played Lucius Sejanis. He got to play a Hans Gruber-like villain in the 1997 film "Masterminds." And if you want to see him collect a paycheck and go home, check out "Lifeforce."
Yup, I can recommend these as well (I have everything he's ever done that is somehow available). Very diverse recommendations, too - just like his entire career. My favorite character he's ever played is included as well here - Sejanus (I, Claudius is my favorite Sir Patrick series). He has said about Masterminds that everyone thought they were making the next Home Alone, which... umm... ahem... wasn't the case. Haha. To be fair tho, Lifeforce has one more thing going for it than him collecting a paycheck - it features his first movie kiss... with Steve Railsback.
My second-favorite Sir Patrick character! I know the movie is pretty much a mess, but I do love Sir Patrick as Gurney Halleck. I mean where would we all be without the iconic battle pug moment? I'm a huge fan of the extended version of the movie since it gives us a little more Gurney-and-his-baliset.
The first time I saw Stewart, it was a very brief appearance as the arch-nemesis Soviet spy master in the British-import PBS Masterpiece Theater mini-series Smiley's People in 1982. IIRC he didn't even speak a line, but he had an intensity and presence to him, and I recognized him a year or two later when I saw Dune.
Yes, you remember correctly! He played Karla, a character who never says even one word. Sir Patrick has stated that this was extremely challenging for him. He did an amazing job tho, I love how Karla says it all by saying nothing and simply changing the look on his face. The series also has him as the arch nemesis and yet he hardly ever appears, adding to the whole appeal of his complete silence when he DOES appear.
Hehe, yeah. It's a nice movie tho, I wasn't annoyed by it and I tend to be annoyed by movies like that in no time, lol. Although I do feel the need to point out that he no longer has to do things for a paycheck, so, all that's left is for him to do things because he WANTS to do them. His animated/voice work in movies that are aimed towards kids as the main audience serves different purpose: He does it mainly for his grandchildren, to show them that their grandfather is enjoying his work (some of them are too young to watch his other movies).
Yeah, and he was also the arch-nemesis of the earlier mini-series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, so it was a really big payoff to actually see him. I highly recommend both series, "retirement age" Sir Alec is incredible.
I can imagine! I've seen him on a theater stage several times as well, and he's always magnificent. Especialyl when he's doing a Shakespeare play, you can see that this right there is his home. Yeah, the two mini series are being sold as a package now, I believe (at least that's the way I got the DVDs when I bought them). There was also a fairly recent BluRay release.
One movie that I watch year after year with Patrick Stewart is his 1999 TNT movie “A Christmas Carol”. Really one of the BEST versions of Carol that has been shot and it would be nice if Warner Brothers remastered it in HD (it was shot on 35mm film, but it looks like the editing might’ve been on 16mm film or digital videotape).
I would LOVE for this movie to be available in HD/on BluRay, yes! I would definitely consider re-buying it. I'm right with you. I'm not much into Xmas or XMas movies but Sir Patrick makes it work for me. He's a fantastic Ebenezer Scrooge. I always wish I could have gone to see his one man stage version that he did in London quite a few years back, but he announced it on such short notice (only a few weeks prior) that I didn't have the chance to save up the necessary money for the trip. Ah well, at least I have the audiobook version of it.
Agreed, on both points. Ahab was the first Sir Patrick character I saw him play outside Star Trek and I was mesmerized from the moment he appeared. That was also when I knew I preferred him as the villain, hehe. Which is why Green Room was also awesome for me, he so rarely stars in thrillers and much less in thrillers that also use elements from horror movies. Green Room is therefore definitely among my favorite movies of his. I really like it when he plays against what people who only know the major franchises he's been in perceive as his "type" (he has played as many - if not more - villains in his career as he has nice guys, but somehow only the nice guys seem to get through).
I will gladly mention him because he's a favorite of mine also! "I owe it to my daughter!" He looks incredibly fabulous at all times.